Remembering 1962 debacle: Is the Military better prepared?

Ref: Can China repeat its 1962 military humiliation of India?
Comment
IAF101 • 28 minutes ago • parent −
What a "surprise" - a military officer blames the politicians and bureaucrats for failure! Guess we haven't heard that excuse from military officers before!
Who ever loses a conflict is a "Yes Man" general and whoever wins is a "skilled" general right? What convenient logic!
Dealing with the political authority is part and parcel of being a general in a democracy. Blaming X and Y is meaningless because it is not some politician or some bureaucrat whose fate is affected but the entire nation! Just as Nehru takes the ultimate blame for failure, the Indian Army also must accept blame that it was unprepared and over matched by the Chinese military. Individual heroism of a few brave officers means nothing if defeat is the outcome. Even the Nazi had heroic officers who fought for their side but today nobody remembers them because they LOST. It is a fact that some Indian commanders gave bad orders and the Indian military headquarters as a whole was struggling to resupply and move troops to the remote NE while the Chinese were crawling up and down Tibet with ease.
As long as the Indian military does not accept responsibility for defeat, it can never learn the lessons required.
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Professional Matters Blog

The Professional Matters Blog at http://reportmysignalpm.blogspot.in/
Professional Matters of Report My Signal- Blog will henceforth be moderated by Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh, PVSM (Retd).
The following new articles have been recently posted on this Blog:

The Road to Smart Vehicles

Turbulence in India-US Ties

Sleeping tiger, crouching dragon

ISRAEL-UNITED STATES: DIFFERING PERCEPTIONS ON MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRAN ANALYZED

CHINA'S FORCE MULTIPLIERS

Strategic alliance to check assertive China

Grave security challenges and the risk of armed confrontation exist in South Asia. India must have potent politico-diplomatic deterrence, strategic alliances and the military wherewithal to ensure peace as well has ability to check adventurism by assertive neighbours or fight a war on two fronts.

India has had defence relations with the US since the Chinese attack in 1962. It was the US that India looked towards when Chinese troops were racing down towards the plains of Assam and Indian political and military leadership was paralysed. Americans airlifted badly needed weapons, equipment and a few fighter aircraft. Later, they equipped three mountain divisions with war equipment and there was a US military mission in New Delhi for a few years for the purpose.

During his November visit, President Barack Obama lifted sanctions against defence research and production establishments, including DRDO, paving the way for greater co-operation.

In the foreseeable future China and Pakistan would be India's main adversaries. There are significant differences in the fundamentals of these three societies, their value systems, religious beliefs and tolerance levels of others. India is a democracy and open society while China and Pakistan are comparatively closed societies, where military plays a dominant role. There is also economic competitiveness between China and India, though the Indian prime minister has repeatedly stated that there is enough room in the world for both China and India. In addition, there is a long-standing border dispute between China and India.
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)
Former Signal Officer-in-Chief of the Indian Army
Click here to read the full analysis in the Professional Matters Blog

China's engineering might

27/10/2010
Beijing’s list of triumphs is getting endless - fastest train, biggest dam, sustaining an average economic growth rate of more than 9% over the past two decades, three manned space flights, building a railway across the Tibetan plateau, the 2008 Beijing Olympics and this year's mammoth Shanghai World Expo. The world is watching as China plans more marvels in the near future.

China rolled out its fastest train yet on Tuesday and announced that the Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydroelectric project, is now generating electricity at maximum capacity -- engineering triumphs that signal the nation's growing ambitions as its economy booms. The successes demonstrate how, after decades of acquiring technology from the west, Beijing has begun to push the limits of its new capabilities, setting the bar higher on mega-projects as it seeks to promote the image of a powerful, modern China.
China's engineering might

The Hindu: China's supercomputer world's fastest

South Asia's Geography of Conflict

Center for a New American Security
Washington, D.C., September 8, 2010 – Ahead of the Southeast Asian Summit later this month in New York and President Obama’s trip to Asia in November, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) released a report today by acclaimed author and CNAS Senior Fellow Robert D. Kaplan. In South Asia’s Geography of Conflict, Kaplan provides a detailed analysis of South Asia's history and geography including the broad arc of territory from Afghanistan southeastward into northern India and highlights India’s pivotal role in the region. Kaplan writes, “As the U.S. and China become great power rivals, the direction in which India tilts could determine the course of geopolitics in Eurasia in the 21st century."

South Asia’s Geography of Conflict is a must-read for American policy makers. Kaplan writes, "If Americans do not come to grasp with India’s age-old, highly unstable geopolitics, especially as it concerns Pakistan, Afghanistan and China, they will badly mishandle the relationship." Kaplan writes, "If Americans do not come to grasp with India’s age-old, highly unstable geopolitics, especially as it concerns Pakistan, Afghanistan and China, they will badly mishandle the relationship."

In South Asia’s Geography of Conflict, CNAS Senior Fellow and acclaimed author Robert D. Kaplan provides a detailed analysis of South Asia's history and geography including the broad arc of territory from Afghanistan southeastward into northern India and highlights India’s pivotal role in the region. Kaplan writes, “As the U.S. and China become great power rivals, the direction in which India tilts could determine the course of geopolitics in Eurasia in the 21st century." South Asia’s Geography of Conflict is a must-read for American policy makers. Kaplan writes, "If Americans do not come to grasp with India’s age-old, highly unstable geopolitics, especially as it concerns Pakistan, Afghanistan and China, they will badly mishandle the relationship."
South Asias Geography of Conflict by Robert D Kaplan
Watch a CNAS exclusive interview with Kaplan on South Asia’s Geography of Conflict here.

Pakistan bleeding India and the Dragon spewing fire

Fighting a ‘limited war’: It is a flawed concept? by Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)

IT is not clear as to when the idea or the concept of a “limited war” was first evolved and articulated. Maybe it was the fallout from the procrastination, dithering and timidity in our response and an alibi for the missed opportunity of a suitable riposte to a major mischief by Pakistan at Kargil. Such response would have put an end to the slow-bleeding of India by Pakistan. Or was it the result of the fiasco of “Operation Parakaram” (mobilisation of Indian defence forces consequent to the attack on Indian Parliament) where we thought we could go in for a limited war and then backtracked on conjuring up the prospects of a larger conflagration? It takes a minimum of two contestants to make war. Therefore, both must subscribe to the idea of a limited war. It cannot work when one of the contestants does and the other does not fall for it.
... Read More

Another three years: Army Chief More Powerful Than The President
by Abhijit Bhattacharyya 02 Aug 2010
ISI head as chief
NO Pakistani army officer can match Kayani’s professional experience and exposure. He has held all the important and sensitive “India-centric” commands. As a Major- General, he commanded the 12th Infantry Division, Murree, deployed to all over the Line of Control. This was followed by a three-year stint as Director-General, Military Operations from December 2000 to September 2003. On promotion as Lt.-General in September 2003 Kayani became commander of Rawalpindi’s X Corps for a year and then Director-General, ISI, for three years (October 2004 to October 2007). On his elevation in 2007, Kayani became the first ISI chief, in the history of Pakistan, to become the army chief.
One of the most crucial aspects of Kayani’s career is his connection with the US armed forces. He has done the Infantry Officer Advanced Course in United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia; the US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii. The US administration welcomed his appointment as army chief, notably the then CIA chief Michael Hayden, the National Intelligence Director, Mike McConnell, and the Central Command Chief, Admiral William Fallon. The US military high command even predicted that being a “soldier’s soldier”, the Pakistani army under Kayani would perform much better than his predecessor Pervez Musharraf.
Thus, Kayani’s apparently “apolitical” and professional image gave him a distinct advantage. It enhanced his acceptability to the quarrelling politicians of Pakistan. “Civilians” may constitute the “boss-in-front”, but Kayani remains the fulcrum and the invisible centre-of-gravity. Kayani asserted himself when he removed Musharraf’s men from sensitive positions in September 2008. He changed four of the nine Corps Commanders and appointed a new head of the ISI. He always consults civilian leaders, and Zardari and Gilani have no reason to complain. When Zardari offered to send the ISI chief to New Delhi for discussions in the immediate aftermath of 26/11, Kayani turned down the proposal. The President’s failure made Kayani politically more powerful than his own Head of State.
... Read more

East of Singapore August 03, 2010
Nitin Pai demystifies the anarchy of international relations
Global Times, an English language daily newspaper owned by the People's Daily, Communist Party of China's mouthpiece, devoted an astonishing 11 of its 22 editorials last month to threatening the United States, South Korea, Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries for challenging China in the western Pacific. The strident criticism rose into a crescendo last week, with the newspaper delivering a thinly-veiled military threat. "China's long-term strategic plan should never be taken as a weak stand, " it warned, and while "[it] is clear that military clashes would bring bad results to all countries in the region involved, but China will never waive its right to protect its core interest with military means."Using state-controlled media to send signals to other countries is an old trick. In this case it allows the Chinese government to make the threat, yet claim that it is honouring its commitments under its 2002 agreement with ASEAN, where the parties pledged to "undertake to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned."
... Read more

China's counterproductive actions in Asia

The Sunday Guardian, May 30, 2010
China’s rise in one generation as a global player under authoritarian rule has come to epitomize the qualitative reordering of power in Asia and the wider world. Not since Japan rose to world-power status during the reign of the Meiji emperor in the second half of the 19th century has another non-Western power emerged with such potential to alter the world order as China today. As the 2009 assessment by the U.S. intelligence community predicted, China stands to more profoundly affect global geopolitics than any other country. China’s ascent, however, is dividing Asia, not bringing Asian states closer.
Read the full article
China pushes Japan and India closer to the U.S. by Brahma Chellaney

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's blind spots

Dr Singh's blind spots: Pakistan and Maoists
May 25, 2010 14:38 IST
The prime minister's remarks on relations with Pakistan and on the Maoist issue do not bode well for our success in dealing with these two challenges to our national security in an effective manner, writes B Raman.
Read more: Dr Singh's blind spots: Pakistan and Maoists

Pax Indica Nitin Pai demystifies the anarchy of international relations
Why India Must Swing
May 25, 2010
"[The] very fact of China's rising economic and military power," Robert Kaplan concludes in an essay in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, "will exacerbate US-Chinese tensions in the years ahead. To paraphrase the political scientist John Mearsheimer, the United States, the hegemon of the Western Hemisphere, will try to prevent China from becoming the hegemon of much of the Eastern Hemisphere. This could be the signal drama of the age."
Read more: Why India Must Swing

National Security: Links to interesting media articles

From sea to shining sea Arun Prakash
Tue May 18 2010,
Jawaharlal Nehru’s gallant endeavour to establish a pan-Asian identity through the Asian Relations Conference in March 1947 proved futile for a number of reasons, of which prime was the firm resolve of Mao Tse Tung to arrogate for China the mantle of Asian leadership. In the six decades since then, India has persevered with other initiatives to create South Asian and Indian Ocean Region (IOR) identities. Unfortunately these initiatives have languished. The Indian Navy (IN) has always fancied itself as a trail blazer in the limited context of maritime diplomacy.
Read more: From sea to shining sea by Arun Prakash former Chief of the Naval Staff, is currently Chairman of the National Maritime Foundation

The larger issue behind Ramesh's outburst in China
May 17, 2010
The case of Jairam Ramesh is particularly curious. He challenged his government's policy on a foreign soil, in essence suggesting that its is the Chinese government that is right when it underscores time and again that India, not China, is responsible for the recent downward spiral in Sino-Indian ties. What a remarkable achievement for a government minister that he ends up giving ammunition to an adversary that has left no stone unturned in challenging India's rise at every possible forum.
Read the full article: The larger issue behind Ramesh's outburst in China by Harsh V Pant

India’s military diplomacy in the Gulf: The importance of Oman by C Raja Mohan
Mon May 17 2010, 15:29 hrs, New Delhi
As Defence Minister A K Antony arrives in Muscat on Monday to review and reinforce the bilateral security partnership, he will hopefully measure up to the challenge of intensifying India’s military engagement in the Gulf. At a time when most major powers - including the older European ones and the new one from China - are deepening their military cooperation with the Gulf, India’s security partnerships in the region remain way below potential.
Read more: India’s military diplomacy in the Gulf: The importance of Oman by C Raja Mohan

Treating China Differently
Since India and China will continue to be potential adversaries so long as the border dispute is not settled, the argument that we should treat the Chinese companies in the same way we treat the Western companies does not hold good.
Read the full article: Treating China Differently by B Raman

1950 Treaty: A Visionary Approach
Guest Column by Hari Bansh Jha- 17 May 2010
In Nepal, there are certain groups of people who hold 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed between Nepal and India on 31st July 1950 as a great asset to Nepal; while others take it as liability. However, the dilemma is that those who take it as an asset have not been able to speak so strongly as to how much the nation benefits from the Treaty. Those who oppose it have also miserably failed to bring out its alternative. And the common mass of the Nepalese population who continue to benefit from the Treaty provisions through its social, cultural, political and economic arrangements are simply the silent spectators.
1950 Treaty: A Visionary Approach by Guest Column by Hari Bansh Jha

Argumentative Chinese step forward
By Sreeram Chaulia
May 18, 2010
BEIJING - This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and India, a momentous occasion that invites reflection on where the two Asian giants are heading in the much-touted "Asian century".
Awareness that this bilateral relationship is critical to the current world order is rising in both countries as they try to position themselves as drivers and pivots of global economic and security structures.
Read full article: Argumentative Chinese step forward By Sreeram Chaulia

Kashmir and the tale of two Faisals
Col (Dr) Anil Athale | 2010-05-18 15:11:30
Breaking news specialists have brought the Indo-Pak peace process back again. This peace process has been frozen and thawed so many times, that an automatic defrost model is called for. The American decision to ‘reward’ Pakistan with weapons to ‘defend’ itself against India is also a repeat of history. Pakistan thereby hopes to counter the threat of an Indian retaliation to a terrorist attack. In Afghanistan the Americans seem to have come to a conclusion that if you can’t beat them, then join them. Even given the dismal US record in South Asia, this seems the acme of short term thinking. The notion that by directing the jihadi’s towards India, the US will be safe had big hole blown into it with the failed car bombing in Times Square.
Read more: Kashmir and the tale of two Faisals by Col (Dr) Anil Athale

India as a Market: A Times Group Presentation

Esteemed Friends,
Here is a very comprehensive presentation on India click here. Worth seeing, sharing and STORING for reference.
Best wishes.
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)

Presentation on India - Times Group
India and China
Engines of growth China and India continue to expand with positive implications for the global economy. Significantly, while China and India complement each other in many ways, they also compete with each other in many areas. As India's Finance Minister rightly said, "India has often been compared with China...I invite comparison with China."

Rating agency Standard & poor (S&P) has included 8 Indian companies in its annual 'Global Challengers List' of 300 firms, while only 4 Chinese firms were included in the list.

India has ousted Taiwan from the second place in the Asia-Pacific private equity rankings with PE deals worth US$ 2,433 million in the first half of 2007, according to Thomson Financial. China has been ranked fifth with deals worth US$ 678.7 million.

Indian companies account for 10.5 per cent of the total syndicated loans by BRIC nations, with borrowings of about US$ 8.28 billion till June 2007. This is higher than China's 7.9 per cent or over US$ 6 billion.

More than 100 Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers have lined up major India expansion plans via joint ventures, strategic alliances, research collaborations and wholly-owned subsidiaries.

China's automobiles market is double that of India, India leads in terms of exports: China's auto exports -- 340,000 units in 2006 -- were less than half of India's total vehicle export tally of 970,620 units (including two and three wheelers).

India and China have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) allowing oil and gas companies of the two countries to engage in mutually beneficial cooperation in acquiring hydrocarbon assets in third world countries without undercutting each other.

The Asia-Pacific region is set for a technology boom with China and India leading the pack in terms of information technology: China is expected to account for 32 per cent of the region's technology market in 2007, India makes up 23 per cent, according to International Data Corp.

India and China have emerged as the preferred destinations for global retail majors increasingly looking to spread their businesses across the world according to a report titled, '2007 Global Powers of Retailing' by international consultancy firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

India and China's jewellery market will grow to equal the US market by 2015: in the global scenario, China has 8.9 per cent market share and India 8.3 per cent.

Driven by high trading volumes for equities and good presence of global banking and financial services firms, Mumbai has secured a place in the world's top ten financial flow hubs list, beating Hong Kong and Beijing in China, according to a survey compiled by Mastercard Worldwide.

Despite massive Government support and huge visibility on the global arena, China's software offshoring market has not taken off as expected and still has a long way to become a potential alternative to India, technology research firm Forrester said in a report released in May 2007.

GSM operators in India serve 300 per cent more subscribers per mega hertz (MHz) than operators in China, a criterion that reflects growth of a telecom network. Using the same benchmark period of 12 years of existence, Indian GSM operators served 3.36 million subscribers per Mhz by December 2006, while China had served 0.85 million subscribers by December 1999. China had introduced mobile services seven years before India.

India topped the global chart for total amount raised through American depository receipts (ADRs) beating China and Taiwan. In 2006, India raised funds worth US$ 2.09 billion while China collected US$ 2.18 billion and Taiwan US$ 1.47 billion through this route.
India as a Market: The Times Group slideshow presentation

Why do we lag behind China?

Recently, the London-based Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index placed India well ahead of China. In domestic institutional maturity, India was ranked 36th to China’s 100th. And then in the social capital sub-index India was ranked 5th and China, 70th.

Thus, India was supposed to have beaten China. But could it be true? I had doubts. Today’s report – US cos prefer China for investment (click me) seems to give the correct picture. (quote- The survey states as much as 74 per cent of the American companies surveyed ranked China as a top-three investment priority with nearly 20 per cent of them naming it as the number one investment spot for them.- unquote)

The 2009 China Business Report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai shows that ‘a large majority of American firms operating in China the continue to see revenue and profit growth even as elsewhere they face downturn.’ China is the world’s ‘fastest growing economy.’ Not surprising. May I share a personal experience?

Last summer, I had taken the Alaskan cruise. On board the ‘Radiance of the Seas.’ It is a big ship with excellent facilities. In the midst of an unfamiliar luxury, what struck the patriotic cord was the fact that almost everything one saw on board the American ship was ‘made in China’.

In the cabin, the toiletries, towels, linen and water flasks were from China. In the dining hall, the crockery and cutlery carried the Chinese label. The position persisted in the shopping area. Even a small battery ‘charger’ needed to energise the camera, though labelled ‘Kodak,’ had actually come from China. It seemed that the ship was flooded with Chinese goods.

After about 36 hours of leaving Vancouver, we had anchored at Ketchikan. It is a small but beautiful town in the state of Alaska. It is popularly known as the ‘salmon’ city. Has a total population of about 13,000. There are shops within almost a hundred yards of the port. One may walk into any shop. Each one is stuffed with all kinds of winter wear and small souvenirs. The caps, shirts, sweaters, chinaware and knives. Everything except the knives, which are a purely local product, was from China.

Click here to read the full article by JL Gupta from Tribune India

Tailpiece
by SaneIndian on Dec 12, 2009 01:22 AM
Infrastructure in India is beyond horrible. Why would anybody want to invest in India when there is no proper transportation or storage available? Govt should invest heavily in developing infrastructure first. Then India can dream about competing with China. The horrible conditions of the roads and indiscriminate use of Auto-Rickshaws and 2 wheelers ruin what ever little good is there on Indian roads- Chennai City says it all loudly! India has become a joke among the west. All we are doing is living in a false paradise. Democracy is a farce in India: It is more of Criminalisation of the Citizens by the State- The Indian Constitution favours Criminals and Political Criminals to breed at faster pace than the growth of population (as is evident for the last 60 years)!

India, China dispute most complicated in the world

16/10/2009
India, China dispute most complicated in the world
New Delhi: In the backdrop of war of words over Arunachal Pradesh, India has said the recent developments have intensified the need for the two countries to resolve the outstanding issues with "more seriousness and determination".

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said the boundary issue between India and China is "one of the most complicated" border disputes in the world and both countries are determined to resolve it.

"We must take a realistic view that there are differences, there are differences when it comes to perceiving the Line of Actual Control (LoAC) in the border areas. And there are differences also in terms of conflicting territorial claims," she told All India Radio. Source: PTI
India, China dispute most complicated in the world

Why boundary disputes are complicated by the Bureaucrats?
The reasons are simple: Bureaucrats are trained to confuse the Politicians and the Citizens as well. Bureaucrats do not go on ground to study the terrain and history of native inhabitants who populate the region. They tend to resolve issues based on maps and depend heavily on hearsay rather than on ground reality. How many from MEA officers and Foreign Secretaries' have visited disputed areas? What are the geographical assets of each disputed area? Has it been studied and quantified by the professionals from various fields? We need to resolve disputes quickly as nothing has happened since 1962. Foreign Secretary's comments are typically bureaucratic procrastination.

Dreading the Dragon by Shekhar Gupta

Dear Sir,
"Dreading the Dragon" by Shekhar Gupta of September 12, click me makes for interesting reading. It is worth noting that the areas where the recently reported transgressions have occured in the Ladakh region, are well within the Johnson-Ardagh Line, which is the basis of India's claims. W.H. Johnson, a Survey of India officer did his border alignment in 1865. Later, in 1897, Maj Gen Sir John Ardagh, as Director Military Intelligence, reinforced Johnson's perceptions, and, in fact, added to them. The 1947 maps India inherited from Britain show the Northern boundary in accordance with the Johnson-Ardagh Line, so India's assertions of alleged intrusion by China have due legitimacy.
The larger issue, however, goes beyond border transgressions. India unapologetically needs to dump the Nehruvian legacy (brusquely ordering a deeply concerned Army Chief, General Cariappa, when he went to advise him in 1951 on building appropriate defences against China, "you mind only Kashmir and Pakistan!").What we now need (and Shekhar Gupta has pointed that out clearly) is a pragmatic and energetic Foreign Policy based on realpolitik, not diplomatic obliqueness; a policy that takes into account the defences forces perceptions of threat assessment and their suggested road map for our Northern and Eastern borders and need for fast track development without undue anxiety or panic. Being polite, obtuse and accommodating on issues of national security should no longer be considered the preferred option. Instead, we should resort to putting our national interest above all other considerations.
Maj Gen Raj Mehta (Retd)

Seminar on Security Development

“ANDAMAN –NICOBAR COMMAND (ANC) A CATALYST IN DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARCHIPELAGO” SAYS VICE ADMIRAL VIJAY SHANKAR; SEMINAR ON SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES AT PORT BLAIR ON A PURPOSEFUL NOTE.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
The two days seminar on security and development of Andaman and Nicobar islands concluded today at Port Blair on a purposeful note with the commander –in –chief of ANC, Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar, Summing up a comprehensive security plan, going hand in hand with the development.

Speaking on the occasion, vice Admiral Shankar said “Security and development of these islands are the two sides of the same coin. Security without development is point less and development without security is like an able boxer with his guards down. The ANC has always been a catalyst in the development of these islands. We will ensure that security and development is achieved while maintaining the ecological balance.”

The seminar on the island development was inaugurated yesterday by H.E Dr APJ Abdul Kalam with his visionary inaugural address. During the seminar various speakers such as Mr Shyam Saran IFS, Real Admiral Raja Menon, DIG KR Nautiyal of Coast Guard, Dr R Chidambaram Principal scientific adviser to Government of India, addressed the participants. Topics such as strategic and geopolitical overview of the region, evolution of strategic Concerns, determinants of security of Islands, Chinese and other regional powers interests, India’s foreign policy and the A & N Islands were discussed in detail.

The Andaman & Nicobar Command’s initiative of hosting such a seminar to rightly evolve ideas and transforming them into action plan is viewed as a watershed event in the history of the archipelago. The seminar rightly justifies the ANC’s mission statement- “The Nations ‘Look East Policy’ is the engine that will drive the functioning of the ANC in the near to intermediate future. Our mission begins with an assurance of

unimpeded use of the seas in our areas of responsibility. Primary to this realization is persistent an all pervasive surveillance by land, sea and air and the ability to mount rapid and punitive action against exertions inimical to our interest. Precision planning, synergy with all intelligence resources in the command’s area of interests, coalescing with the efforts of likeminded littorals, networking with all regional operational information assets an robust maintenance and logistics will be key enablers. Our abiding faith in the credo of joint ness will ensure both focus and unity to our actions.”

Maj Gen AK Chaturvedi, Chief of Staff of Andaman and Nicobar Command in his closing address said “that there is a great potential for the development of the archipelago but there also are gaps between potential and reality. Through interministerial and multi agency synergy this gap would be bridged. We shall not only provide a security environment where the development will flourish, but also contribute in ways that the look east policy achieves what it aims”
“ANDAMAN –NICOBAR COMMAND (ANC) A CATALYST IN DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARCHIPELAGO” SAYS VICE ADMIRAL VIJAY SHANKAR: SEMINAR ON SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES AT PORT BLAIR ON A PURPOSEFUL NOTE.
Security, development of Andamans interlinked: Military commander

Are We Heading for a 1962 Repeat?

Numerous reports have been emerging in the print and electronic media of a possible repeat of 1962 by the PLA (People’s Liberation Army), objective Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh (AP/NEFA).

Bharat Verma, Editor of Defence Today in an article in his Journal states that it may be as early as October 2009 (before the onset of the winter). Linked with the ambivalent Chinese posture it appears a possibility. Yet another China watcher confirms in his letter “The inflation noose”, this possibility is to divert the attention of the Chinese from the rising inflation in that country. So China may well head for Tawang. And to add credence to this deadline, a well known Sinologist of a reputed Think Tank quotes a Chinese writer from Beijing that the Chinese plan is to fragment India and hence the “String of Pearls” strategy. This assessment has not yet been refuted by the Beijing Mandarins! So what better take off point than the occupation of NEFA? These views have been prominently discussed in the Indian media; to which the three Service Chiefs have emphatically stated that the modernisation of the Armed Forces lags far behind that of China in every field including the Defence budget. The Naval Chief has bluntly stated that the PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) is well ahead of the Indian Navy as was demonstrated at an imposing naval review showcasing the Chinese Blue Water Fleet, be it aircraft carriers, submarines or other surface warships.
Read full article:
Are We Heading for a 1962 Repeat? Maj. Gen.(Retd) E. D’Souza
Related reading
Dalai Lama may visit Tawang in November

Chinese incursions

Noting that there were different perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor has said India would be "as much blameworthy" as the Chinese side for incursions on the two sides.

He, however, said that border infrastructure on the Chinese side was better than that of India, giving them an "additional capability to bring additional troops", and the Indian government is "seriously looking" into this "disparity".

"I think a degree of misperception has been built on this issue of incursions.. First and foremost, it is a matter of perception. The Chinese have a different perception of the LAC as do we. When they come up to their perception, we call it an incursion and likewise they do," Kapoor said in an interview on a private news channel.

He said that the level of total number of incursions in 2007 is "somewhat similar to what it has been in the past. So, the feeling that too many incursions have taken place into Indian territory is not right."

Asked whether Indian troops also incur into Chinese territory as often because of differences of perception about the LAC, the army chief replied: "That's right... Which they would call an incursion into their side. So, therefore, to that extent, we would be as much blameworthy for that kind of incursion up to our perceived LAC."

Kapoor dismissed media perception that Chinese incursion were a sign of muscle-flexing by Beijing indicating something worse to come. (PTI)

Credit: Headlines India
New Delhi, Saturday, February 23, 2008 (15:06:58)