The defence minister was addressing his top military officials, including the army, navy and air force chiefs, at the annual meeting of the Unified Commanders Conference in New Delhi.
Later on Tuesday, Antony and the three service chiefs held a special security review meeting with National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon. Such a meeting reinforces the signal that India is evaluating options beyond dialogue and diplomacy.
This is the government's first unambiguously tough statement since April 15, when New Delhi learned about the intrusion at Daulat Beg Oldi by 30-40 Chinese soldiers, who military intelligence sources believe are from a border unit of the People's Armed Police Force.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had stated ambiguously, "We do have a plan." But he went on to say, "We do not want to accentuate the situation. We do believe that it is possible to resolve this problem."
Top army sources say the military has been ordered not to physically act against the Chinese border guards, or to even start building up force in anticipation of an operation to evict them. But Business Standard is aware that the army has evolved detailed contingency plans in case a decision is made to use force.
So far, the Indian reaction has come from the Indo-Tibet Border Policy (ITBP), which manages the Sino-Indian border while the regular army remains behind the front lines. The ITBP has set up its own encampment barely 100 yards from the Chinese camp.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has emphasised a peaceful solution from the start. In a media briefing on April 23, the MEA spokesperson recounted that New Delhi contacted Beijing on April 16, the day after the intrusion was detected, to activate a joint consultative mechanism that was set up to resolve border incidents like this one. On April 18, the army held a flag meeting with the PLA; the same evening, the Chinese ambassador to New Delhi was called to the MEA and conveyed India's concerns. The two armies held a second flag meeting on April 23; while China has not yet responded to an India request for a third flag meeting.
The MEA is also placing faith in two high-level political meetings that lie ahead. Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid will visit Beijing on May 9, while China's new premier, Li Keqiang, is scheduled to visit New Delhi late next month.
"The government has carefully created space for diplomacy and consultation to work. But it is also working with the army to ensure that the military option is available," says Srikanth Kondapalli, a China expert from the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Antony does not rule out force against China intrusion | Business Standard
Lets cross our fingers...hope to face china head on head with full force in the nearest future..we shud not miss this opportunity.....lets see if Chinese have balls! (if they had they wud not ve pulled back even afte their so called victory in the past and even today they are not firing a single round...just provoking....lol... ..seems the leadership in China is pleasing its ppl...or playing dirty game which depicts its standard as a nation!!!
Later on Tuesday, Antony and the three service chiefs held a special security review meeting with National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon. Such a meeting reinforces the signal that India is evaluating options beyond dialogue and diplomacy.
This is the government's first unambiguously tough statement since April 15, when New Delhi learned about the intrusion at Daulat Beg Oldi by 30-40 Chinese soldiers, who military intelligence sources believe are from a border unit of the People's Armed Police Force.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had stated ambiguously, "We do have a plan." But he went on to say, "We do not want to accentuate the situation. We do believe that it is possible to resolve this problem."
Top army sources say the military has been ordered not to physically act against the Chinese border guards, or to even start building up force in anticipation of an operation to evict them. But Business Standard is aware that the army has evolved detailed contingency plans in case a decision is made to use force.
So far, the Indian reaction has come from the Indo-Tibet Border Policy (ITBP), which manages the Sino-Indian border while the regular army remains behind the front lines. The ITBP has set up its own encampment barely 100 yards from the Chinese camp.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has emphasised a peaceful solution from the start. In a media briefing on April 23, the MEA spokesperson recounted that New Delhi contacted Beijing on April 16, the day after the intrusion was detected, to activate a joint consultative mechanism that was set up to resolve border incidents like this one. On April 18, the army held a flag meeting with the PLA; the same evening, the Chinese ambassador to New Delhi was called to the MEA and conveyed India's concerns. The two armies held a second flag meeting on April 23; while China has not yet responded to an India request for a third flag meeting.
The MEA is also placing faith in two high-level political meetings that lie ahead. Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid will visit Beijing on May 9, while China's new premier, Li Keqiang, is scheduled to visit New Delhi late next month.
"The government has carefully created space for diplomacy and consultation to work. But it is also working with the army to ensure that the military option is available," says Srikanth Kondapalli, a China expert from the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Antony does not rule out force against China intrusion | Business Standard
Lets cross our fingers...hope to face china head on head with full force in the nearest future..we shud not miss this opportunity.....lets see if Chinese have balls! (if they had they wud not ve pulled back even afte their so called victory in the past and even today they are not firing a single round...just provoking....lol... ..seems the leadership in China is pleasing its ppl...or playing dirty game which depicts its standard as a nation!!!
