"Tensions along the Line of Actual Control don't give leverage unless you stay there," said a senior diplomat with long experience of China. And China didn't stay on at Raki Nulla in eastern Ladakh during the face off last month, raising the question as to why it happened in the first place.
"I don't buy the theory of discord between the civil and military establishment. That's a Western argument," said the diplomat. He had no doubt the face off was planned but it could well be that someone somewhere overstepped his brief. The Chinese can be expected to deal harshly with the person or persons found responsible. "At some point it will come out, a report here or a communication there," the diplomat said. "But the incursions and constant probing along the LAC will continue."
Points to ponder as India rolls out the red carpet for Premier Li Keqiang. There's no doubt the face off has deepened the trust deficit, which is probably one of the reasons why the premier is here. Otherwise, he could have done better to wait this government out (with elections due in some months) and dealt with the new political dispensation on a fresh slate.
But the Chinese, in the diplomat's view, have other reasons to reach out. "Just as we talk of China's string of pearls strategy to isolate and contain India, the Chinese have similar fears. "Keeping in mind that China is critically dependent on the Indian Ocean for the
11:50 AM, May 20, 2013
Kolkata: Indian Army's first woman jawan (personnel) Shanti Tigga was found hanging in a railway hospital in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday, police said. A senior police officer said prima facie it appeared to be a case of suicide. The 37-year-old Tigga's body was found in the toilet of a cabin at the Alipurduar Railway Hospital. Tigga, attached to the 969 Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army and...
11:55 PM, May 14, 2013
Srinagar: The Indian Army has launched a massive offensive along the Line of Control in Handwara and Kupwara after reports that six terrorists having been sighted in the area. The Army has intensified patrolling over the past few days. Helicopter patrolling is on and security personnel are on alert along the border. In fact, a major tragedy was averted on Sunday when the Army detected and destroyed an improvised explosive...
10:57 AM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: An Army helicopter, on air maintenance operations, crashed on Monday morning in the icy heights of Siachen glacier but both the pilots survived the accident and were being evacuated for treatment, army sources said. The advanced light helicopter (ALH) 'Dhruv', flown by two pilots of the Army Aviation Squadron, crashed in the northern glacier at around 8:00 am, the sources said. They said of the two pilots, one...
02:22 PM, May 13, 2013
New Delhi: An Army helicopter, on air maintenance operations, crashed on Monday morning in the icy heights of Siachen glacier but both the pilots survived the accident and were being evacuated for treatment, army sources said. The advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, flown by two pilots of the Army Aviation Squadron, crashed in the northern glacier at around 8:00 AM, the sources said. They said of the two pilots, one...
01:49 PM, May 13, 2013
New Delhi: The Indian Army has decided to phase-out Maruti Gypsy from its inventory with Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari in the race to replace the vehicle under a project expected to cost the force more than Rs 3,000 crore. The Indian Army is the biggest customer of the Maruti Gypsy utility vehicles with more than 25,000 such vehicles in service and uses them in all light vehicle operations including...
12:08 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: Four days after the face off with Chinese troops ended at Raki Nulla in eastern Ladakh, there's no clarity in Delhi on just why it happened. Indian diplomats expect some of the fog will clear when External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid returns from Beijing. "It could have been a signal to India, that they wanted movement on the draft of the defence cooperation agreement they had handed over...
03:35 PM, May 10, 2013
Islamabad: Pakistan Punjab's caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi has said that Pakistan no longer considers India to be an existential threat. Speaking to CNN-IBN's Karan Thapar, Sethi said that India needs to realise that. Following is an excerpt from the interview: Karan Thapar: The second aspect of the electoral campaign that is underway in Pakistan that is being picked up by India is the fact that Kashmir as an issue...
09:57 AM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: With China-India standoff in Ladakh sector coming to an end, sources said on Monday that Delhi has not given in to any of the demands made by Beijing. "The governments of India and China have agreed to restore status quo along Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Western Sector as it existed prior to April 15. Flag meetings have been held to work out modalities and to confirm...
02:07 PM, May 06, 2013
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the Centre must clarify the ground situation in Ladakh region following withdrawal of the Chinese troops from Daulat Beg Oldi sector. "Some amount of clarity from Government of India, particularly from the Ministry of Defence, would be desired so that we would know exactly what the ground position is. But the fact that the Chinese have withdrawn is something...
01:21 PM, May 06, 2013
New Delhi: There has been some relief for the government on the India-China border. The Chinese and Indian armies have withdrawn simultaneously from face-off point at the Daulat Beg Oldi sector in Ladakh. Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs say there were no talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese leaders and the agreement was reached at a diplomatic level. The procedure of withdrawal of troops of both...
08:59 AM, May 06, 2013
The Chinese intrusion into Depsang Bulge in East Ladakh, approximately 19 km inside our perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on April 15, has raised temperatures both militarily and politically on either side. A series of border personnel meetings between the militaries of the two sides have not been able to resolve the issue so far and the standoff continues till date. It would not be incorrect to...
05:50 PM, May 02, 2013
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday took on the Central government on the incursion by Chinese troops 19 km inside the Indian side in Ladakh's Daulat Beg Oldi and alleged that China is constructing bunkers in Eastern Ladakh. The BJP also alleged that government has failed to end the Chinese incursion as asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and end the stand off. BJP spokesperson Prakash...
10:44 AM, May 02, 2013
New Delhi: Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Wednesday briefed the Cabinet Committee on Security over the Chinese incursion in Ladakh. CNN-IBN has learned that General Singh told the Prime Minister and other senior cabinet ministers that it is a localised problem. India and China held a third flag meeting at Chushul in Ladakh on Tuesday, which was inconclusive yet again. In the flag meet, China demanded that India dismantles...
01:52 PM, May 01, 2013
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has said there is no need to press the panic button even as the Chinese incursion in Ladakh enters day 17 on Wednesday. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Khurshid said, "There is a difference of opinion and perception, but no confrontation. We can express concern, but we need not press the panic button." He also said that the standoff between India and China can be...
07:55 AM, May 01, 2013
New Delhi: Chinese troops, who have intruded almost 19 kms into the Indian territory in Ladakh, may never leave the area. According to assessments by senior government and intelligence officials China's People's Liberation Army soldiers camped in Raki Nullah in eastern Ladakh may never go back across the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Sources say China may have initiated the intrusion to see how India would react on the ground....
06:48 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: Major Anup Joseph Manjali was on Saturday awarded the second-highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee for killing three foreign militants in Jammu and Kashmir. 12 defence personnel were awarded the Shaurya Charkra for their acts of bravery including Captain A Rahul Ramesh and Naik Krishna Kumar who were given the honour posthumously. Manjali, who was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir with the 24 Rashtriya...
11:40 PM, Apr 27, 2013
New Delhi: With no let-up in the tension following China's border incursion into Leh, senior government officials have now told CNN-IBN that the entire situation could have been handled better. CNN-IBN's Strategic Affairs Editor Surya Gangadharan takes a look at what steps could have been taken: The Chinese camp should have been surrounded and the supply line behind them should have been cut off. This would have prevented them being...
02:37 PM, Apr 27, 2013
Ten days and counting, that is how long the standoff between the Indian army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has lasted in Ladakh. The Chinese troops crossed into India's side of the LAC and they continue to hold those positions living in tents there. While both New Delhi and Beijing have tried to play down the issue, no resolution to the standoff is now casting a shadow on ...
01:00 PM, Apr 27, 2013
New Delhi: Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Thursday briefed Defence Minister AK Antony on the Chinese incursion issue in Ladakh and the present situation there. After reviewing the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the Ladakh area with military commanders in the Northern Command, Gen Singh briefed the Defence Minister on the incursion issue on Thursday, Army officials said. The Army Chief had returned from Jammu and Kashmir on...
02:57 PM, Apr 25, 2013
