20 Indian soldiers killed in action on the Line of
Actual Control (LAC) on the night of 15/ 16 June 2020, without a single bullet
being fired, represents a new low in Indo-China relations. It is even more
problematic that this happened when both sides had agreed to de-escalation,
during the talks on 06 June 2020, at the Corps Commander level, in the spirit
of the 1993 Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity (AMPT) on the
LAC. An analysis of the available facts of that night will reveal to even a layman
that the entire tactical action at Patrol Point 14 in the Galwan valley was
pre-meditated deceit by the PLA; the numbers of the troops, the actions/
events, & the improvised lethal weapons employed by the PLA troops are
testimony to this deceit. From the open source satellite pictures available in
the media, it can be surmised that China did not expect to go to war, as their
entire LoC in the Galwan valley were out in the open; sitting ducks for any
aerial attack. The action thus was, firstly, to unobtrusively occupy a vantage
position in the Galwan valley so as to be able to dominate the Indian
Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road and secondly, to test the Indian response in
terms of strength & speed, as also the Indian capability and will to defend
the LAC. The Indian response was not found wanting, and that is the reason for
China to immediately call for maintaining peace along the LAC. However, the
price paid for the courageous response was too high, loss of 20 soldiers,
including the Commanding officer of a battalion.
The CO and his 19 brave hearts who sacrificed their all.
Image Credit: India Today.
These Chinese actions in effect have shattered the
trustworthiness of the Chinese word in terms of agreements/ treaties, and have also
effectively nullified the AMPT, 1993. It is evident that this tactical action
of the PLA was part of an operational plan, which will now require a strategic
rethink on India’s part; the entire nation is deeply traumatised by the death
of our brave soldiers, and is agonising about our bi-lateral relations with
China. Even as I type this, I can hear the song, “Aey mere watan ke logo…”
being played on the public address system in our housing society.
The Chinese governance structure is so designed that
every Chinese action conforms to the vision of the ‘paramount leader’; Xi
Jinping is the paramount leader, who effectively heads the three main power
centres within China, besides others, – the State, as President of the People’s
Republic of China (PRC); the all powerful and omnipresent Communist Party of
China (CPC), as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, as also the
Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission (CMC); and the PLA, as the Chairman
of the PRC CMC. It is thus very hard to imagine that the events that unfolded
at four separate locations on the LAC, in May 2020, within 6 months of his
informal meeting with PM Modi at Mamallpuram on 12 Oct 2019, were without his
concurrence. Imagine meeting the head of govt of a country, in his country,
re-iterating a desire for peace and tranquillity along the LAC and planning ‘salami
slicing’ of his land, all at the same time. Xi is wholly culpable & responsible
for the deceit that was unleashed by the PLA, and is thus unworthy of our trust.
India is an open & free society and a vibrant parliamentary
democracy, where every action of the govt is subject to checks and balances, as
well open to questioning by the opposition, both inside and outside the parliament.
The Indian side has made public the number of soldiers killed in action,
whereas the Chinese can get away without even publicly acknowledging the
numbers or names of their dead. Considering the above, it is pretty evident
that we are now in a state of no war no peace, an unstable situation that can
go out of control at the slightest mishandling. What then is the way forward?
Military talks are continuing at the Maj Gen level.
These are not likely to result in any resolution. Talks have to be held at the
politico-diplomatic level to bear any fruit, but these too are not likely to
yield any substantial benefits due to lack of trust. They can however prevent a
full blown war, if China agrees to restore the status quo ante. This has to be
an absolute first and mandatory condition. India has its hands full with the
Corona pandemic, kick starting of the economy, unemployment and the migrant labour
issues. India wants peace but not at the cost of its self respect or loss of
territory – this has been made amply clear by the PM, on 17 Jun 2020. It is a given that the
military would be preparing for the worst case scenario. Now that the 1993
AMPT is defacto null and void, it is time that the govt, and in turn the
military leadership, clearly defines the rules of engagement for the military.
Soldiers should not be put in a war like situation, to defend own territory,
with their hands tied. The mistakes of Kargil and Sri Lanka should not be
repeated.
Modern wars are fought by each and every citizen contributing
their might, either directly or indirectly through their thoughts, words and
actions. The military will do what it is trained to do, and it is pretty
certain that they will do justice to the trust that is reposed in them by every
citizen of this country. As citizens we can stop funding the economic
wherewithal of China, which directly funds their war fighting machine that is
not only posing a threat to India, but also to many nations in the South China
sea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, as also occupied Tibet. It is tough these days to find items
that are not ‘made in China’, but it is not impossible too, if one decides to
boycott Chinese stuff. Start immediately with the non essential stuff, and in
due course keep adding essential stuff too in the list. This will have twin
benefits of boycott Chinese, as well as give a boost to our PM’s call of ‘Atmanirbhar
Bharat’. The govt has its hands tied due to various constraints like, treaty
obligations, finding alternate sources for materials, establishing supply
chains, etc and it will take the needed steps in due course. As citizens, we
have no such constraints and can start contributing immediately. Just do your
part. We all know that every mighty ocean is also made up of individual drops;
every drop counts.
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