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'Chinese are looking for a moment of weakness to teach India a lesson'
By ARCHANA MASIH
'They know that India is no pushover.'
'We have to be extremely vigilant, remain ready and keep strengthening our positions.'
'We have to be militarily strong, whatever be the cost.'
IMAGE: General Manoj Mukund Naravane, chief of the army staff, in Ladakh, December 23, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo
"China cannot be trusted and we must not get complacent since China can only be dealt with from a position of strength," says Lieutenant General Sanjay Kulkarni (retd), PVSM, AVSM, SC, SM, VSM (Retd).
The General commanded a brigade and a division on the Line of Actual Control and was decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for leading his platoon to unfurl the Tricolour in Bilafondla on the Siachen Glacier.
General Sanjay Kulkarni spoke to Rediff.com's Archana Masih in the concluding segment of a two-part interview.
Part 1: 'PLA is no match for Indian Army'
More like this
'The standoff with China won't get over soon'
'The standoff with China won't get over soon'
The Chinese have a larger force, better connectivity and technological edge. They can move men and material faster -- how does India match up with technological headstart they have?
The mountains favour the defender.
Indian troops have taken up defences all along the LAC. The Chinese have to come forward to attack us.
If an Indian company is occupying a post, the Chinese will require 6-9 times more troops to dislodge them on a very narrow stretch, thus making it impossible to do so, add to it the rarefied atmosphere and extremely harsh conditions.
The Pakistani troops have been trying extremely hard to dislodge us from Siachen and have failed miserably since 1984.
There are satellites and UAVs alongside Early Warning systems in place to alert the Indian Army of the PLA's misadventurism.
Our troops are prepared for any eventuality to defend the country.
China has violated all agreements to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LAC and have started the stand-off and the responsibility to restore status quo ante April 2020 is theirs.
China understands the limitations of its troops. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has realised after Galwan that their troops may find it difficult to face the battle hardened troops in winter.
Technologically, they may have a slight edge. They may have the ammunition, technology, aircraft and missiles, but the man behind the machine matters in the border dispute.
The Indian Army has never had to maintain such large number of troops in such severe conditions over such an extended period of time. What are the challenges of maintaining the troops?
We may not have had such a large deployment on the LAC in the past, but we have always had troops positioned there and have a system in place to maintain them.
The Indian Army knows the challenges and can counter them.
Our troops are tough; they have the knowledge and experience of serving in harsh conditions.
The PLA troops are used to the luxury of arriving at forward locations in centrally heated vehicles and going back after spending a very short time, but now they have stay put. It is affecting their health adversely.
There is a lot of discussion and conflicting information about the PLA having come into our territory, what are your thoughts on the real situation on the border?
It has been stated in Parliament that we will not give an inch of our territory.
The home minister has stated in Parliament that Aksai Chin and Azad Kashmir is our territory. The statement was made to reiterate the fact that a part of our land has been occupied by Pakistan and China.
Therefore, we are asserting our right on what is ours.
There is no denying that 38,000 sq kms of our territory is under occupation of China in Ladakh.
On May 5, 2020, the Chinese altered the status quo unilaterally. That status quo was a result of several treaties between India and China since 1993. China has thrown all those treaties to the wind!
It would not be wrong to say that China has lost all goodwill it had earned since 1993. Tremendous trust deficit exits between the two countries along the LAC.
We were patrolling up to Finger 8 and they were coming up to Finger 4, there was a protocol in place known as the 'banner drill' and the troops would pull back to their respective positions along the LAC, without firing a shot or for that matter without getting into a fist fight, but the Chinese suddenly got belligerent.
On May 5, the Chinese came to Finger 4 and did not go back. They came to Patrol Point 14 and did not go back resulting in the Galwan clash which altered everything. The present situation is a result of the Chinese provocation.
The Galwan fight back showed the Chinese that the Indian troops on the ground don't wait for orders to fight if the Chinese decide to take law in their own hand and will not accept the status quo being unilaterally changed despite an agreement.
IMAGE: General Naravane interacts with commanders and troops at forward base Tara in Ladakh. Photograph: PTI Photo
Does not the refusal of the Chinese to withdraw mean that the PLA has entered Indian territory?
The Chinese have been on Indian territory since 1950. It has been said in Parliament that Aksai Chin is ours, but China's G 219 highway passes through Aksai Chin connecting Tibet to Xinjiang.
The Chinese have many perceptions of the LAC which resulted in the 1962 war and the present imbroglio.
The Peace and Tranquillity Agreement of 1993 provided the framework for peace along the border, but all of that changed because the Chinese altered the status quo when they transgressed into Indian territory.
India has stated that it wants the status quo ante April 2020. All military and diplomatic talks that have been going on are solely for this purpose.
Security experts say the troops are in for a prolonged deployment at the LAC. What do you think is the possibility of the Chinese withdrawing?
Since the Chinese believe that power flows from the barrel of the gun, they will not withdraw.
I don't think the Chinese will go back. They have deep pockets and use cheque book diplomacy to exert pressure on our neighbours to put pressure on India.
Can you imagine the billion dollars lent to Pakistan by China to repay the interest free Saudi debt was at 14% rate of interest?
The talks with China have not resulted in any tangible gains on ground so far, the Chinese are in fact gradually strengthening their positions in TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region) and along the LAC and using Pakistan to keep India under pressure.
China cannot be trusted and we must not get complacent since China can only be dealt with from a position of strength.
Even if there is semblance of peace, the Chinese are looking for that one moment of weakness to teach us a lesson. They know that India is no pushover.
'Chinese are looking for a moment of weakness to teach us a lesson'
By ARCHANA MASIH
'They know that India is no pushover.'
'We have to be extremely vigilant, remain ready and keep strengthening our positions.'
'We have to be militarily strong, whatever be the cost.'
IMAGE: General Manoj Mukund Naravane, chief of the army staff, in Ladakh, December 23, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo
"China cannot be trusted and we must not get complacent since China can only be dealt with from a position of strength," says Lieutenant General Sanjay Kulkarni (retd), PVSM, AVSM, SC, SM, VSM (Retd).
The General commanded a brigade and a division on the Line of Actual Control and was decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for leading his platoon to unfurl the Tricolour in Bilafondla on the Siachen Glacier.
General Sanjay Kulkarni spoke to Rediff.com's Archana Masih in the concluding segment of a two-part interview.
Part 1: 'PLA is no match for Indian Army'
More like this
'The standoff with China won't get over soon'
'The standoff with China won't get over soon'
The Chinese have a larger force, better connectivity and technological edge. They can move men and material faster -- how does India match up with technological headstart they have?
The mountains favour the defender.
Indian troops have taken up defences all along the LAC. The Chinese have to come forward to attack us.
If an Indian company is occupying a post, the Chinese will require 6-9 times more troops to dislodge them on a very narrow stretch, thus making it impossible to do so, add to it the rarefied atmosphere and extremely harsh conditions.
The Pakistani troops have been trying extremely hard to dislodge us from Siachen and have failed miserably since 1984.
There are satellites and UAVs alongside Early Warning systems in place to alert the Indian Army of the PLA's misadventurism.
Our troops are prepared for any eventuality to defend the country.
China has violated all agreements to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LAC and have started the stand-off and the responsibility to restore status quo ante April 2020 is theirs.
China understands the limitations of its troops. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has realised after Galwan that their troops may find it difficult to face the battle hardened troops in winter.
Technologically, they may have a slight edge. They may have the ammunition, technology, aircraft and missiles, but the man behind the machine matters in the border dispute.
The Indian Army has never had to maintain such large number of troops in such severe conditions over such an extended period of time. What are the challenges of maintaining the troops?
We may not have had such a large deployment on the LAC in the past, but we have always had troops positioned there and have a system in place to maintain them.
The Indian Army knows the challenges and can counter them.
Our troops are tough; they have the knowledge and experience of serving in harsh conditions.
The PLA troops are used to the luxury of arriving at forward locations in centrally heated vehicles and going back after spending a very short time, but now they have stay put. It is affecting their health adversely.
There is a lot of discussion and conflicting information about the PLA having come into our territory, what are your thoughts on the real situation on the border?
It has been stated in Parliament that we will not give an inch of our territory.
The home minister has stated in Parliament that Aksai Chin and Azad Kashmir is our territory. The statement was made to reiterate the fact that a part of our land has been occupied by Pakistan and China.
Therefore, we are asserting our right on what is ours.
There is no denying that 38,000 sq kms of our territory is under occupation of China in Ladakh.
On May 5, 2020, the Chinese altered the status quo unilaterally. That status quo was a result of several treaties between India and China since 1993. China has thrown all those treaties to the wind!
It would not be wrong to say that China has lost all goodwill it had earned since 1993. Tremendous trust deficit exits between the two countries along the LAC.
We were patrolling up to Finger 8 and they were coming up to Finger 4, there was a protocol in place known as the 'banner drill' and the troops would pull back to their respective positions along the LAC, without firing a shot or for that matter without getting into a fist fight, but the Chinese suddenly got belligerent.
On May 5, the Chinese came to Finger 4 and did not go back. They came to Patrol Point 14 and did not go back resulting in the Galwan clash which altered everything. The present situation is a result of the Chinese provocation.
The Galwan fight back showed the Chinese that the Indian troops on the ground don't wait for orders to fight if the Chinese decide to take law in their own hand and will not accept the status quo being unilaterally changed despite an agreement.
IMAGE: General Naravane interacts with commanders and troops at forward base Tara in Ladakh. Photograph: PTI Photo
Does not the refusal of the Chinese to withdraw mean that the PLA has entered Indian territory?
The Chinese have been on Indian territory since 1950. It has been said in Parliament that Aksai Chin is ours, but China's G 219 highway passes through Aksai Chin connecting Tibet to Xinjiang.
The Chinese have many perceptions of the LAC which resulted in the 1962 war and the present imbroglio.
The Peace and Tranquillity Agreement of 1993 provided the framework for peace along the border, but all of that changed because the Chinese altered the status quo when they transgressed into Indian territory.
India has stated that it wants the status quo ante April 2020. All military and diplomatic talks that have been going on are solely for this purpose.
Security experts say the troops are in for a prolonged deployment at the LAC. What do you think is the possibility of the Chinese withdrawing?
Since the Chinese believe that power flows from the barrel of the gun, they will not withdraw.
I don't think the Chinese will go back. They have deep pockets and use cheque book diplomacy to exert pressure on our neighbours to put pressure on India.
Can you imagine the billion dollars lent to Pakistan by China to repay the interest free Saudi debt was at 14% rate of interest?
The talks with China have not resulted in any tangible gains on ground so far, the Chinese are in fact gradually strengthening their positions in TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region) and along the LAC and using Pakistan to keep India under pressure.
China cannot be trusted and we must not get complacent since China can only be dealt with from a position of strength.
Even if there is semblance of peace, the Chinese are looking for that one moment of weakness to teach us a lesson. They know that India is no pushover.
'Chinese are looking for a moment of weakness to teach us a lesson'
'Chinese are looking for a moment of weakness to teach us a lesson'
'They know that India is no pushover.' 'We have to be extremely vigilant, remain ready and keep strengthening our positions.' 'We have to be militarily strong, whatever be the cost.'
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