Army sees red; warns PM about China’s underhanded moves

New Delhi, May 11: With India facing more and more territorial intrusions recently, the recent news has upped fears for the Indian forces that they have decided to warn the Prime Minister about it.

The stunning facts were revealed in an exclusive presentation to the PM Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister AK Antony, National Security Adviser S S Menon, Principal Secretary T K Nair and Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar by top military honchos in the Indian military last month.

While the facts cannot be ignored anymore on the presentation, some eye-opening facts that says China has the capability to deploy and sustain troops numbering more than half-a-million for over a month on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), throws up serious security issues for India.

With China"s fast-paced developmental work in the region near Tibet, its acceleration of defense upgradation, and smart diplomatic moves especially with other neighbouring countries are likely to pose serious challenges for Indian forces. There are also chances that Beijing might put pressure on New Delhi to gain more control over Arunachal Pradesh.

The presentation also states that the Chinese People"s Liberation Army (PLA) has attained the capability to deploy as much as 34 troop divisions along the LAC by moving troops from the Chengdu and Lanzhou military regions. One division equals 23,000 troops. With the dismal number of nine holding division Indian troops guarding the northern borders and the burgeoning defense budget of $150 billion by the PLA, China seem to be having an upper hand in all areas.

Besides, China has a slow and steady pace of developmental work in terms of infrastructure upgradation that is also worrying Indian counterparts. The road network from Tibet to those near the borders has been increased from 51,000 km in 2008 to 58,000 km in 2010. There are further plans to increase it by another 70,000 km. The extension of railway lines also poses threats with a proposal to connect Kathmandu, Myanmar, Bhutan, Pakistan and Central Asian republics. Tibet is also a host to 8 air fields with 5 operational ones; another 18 air bases are there in Tibet that can put India in the range of a Sukhoi 27 aircraft.

China's association with Pakistan also gives it an edge over India. With China supplying four F-22 frigates with a JF-17 aircraft to Islamabad, the relationship is only evident. The PLA has also apparently sent close to 1,000 troops into PoK for the upgradation of the Karakoram Highway so that a sea link is established between sea ports of Karachi, Gwadar and Bin Qassim. Not only leading better access to Pakistan, this will help the PLA to gain more control over the Persian Gulf.

OneIndia News