How PM Modi’s decisions will go a long way in countering an aggressive China

The decisions taken by PM Modi are a complete diversion from the decisions by earlier governments when no encouragement was given to construct border roads

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set in place a three pronged plan to counter an aggressive China.

The decision to raise seven battalions of the ITBP, launch a vigorous village approach and clear the Shinkun La tunnel are part of the three pronged plan to strengthen India's defences in the Line of Actual Control and counter the policy of President Xi Jinping's Fortress Tibet a Hindustan Times report said.

The three decisions taken by the Prime Minister are interrelated to a response to the three-tier border security organised by the Peoples Liberation Army in the western theatre command in Tibet and Xinjiang.

The decision by the government of India to raise seven battalions of the ITBP which will have around 8,400 men means that India will also have a three tier arrangement in the LAC like the one in the LoC with Pakistan, with the Border Security Force (BSF) forming the front line.

The ITBP is a special mountain force deployed across the state borders at altitudes above 12,000 feet and in sub-zero temperatures .

The newly raised battalions will be responsible for 47 border posts, including one in Ladakh, another in Uttarakhand and the rest in Arunachal Pradesh. A sector headquarters will also be set up in Arunachal Pradesh to be headed by a DIG rank officer and a news staging camp will be set up rare fields to supply food, oil, arms and ammunition.

A decision has also been taken to have an all weather connectivity axis from Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh via the Manali-Atal Tunnel-Darcha-Shinkun La tunnel-Padum-Nimu axis. The road and tunnel cannot be targeted by enemy artillery or rockets and this would be the main feeder route for the Indian Army to be deployed along the borders. In this regard, the government will clear the 12 kilometre tunnel under Saser La in sub-sector North to get an alternative road connection to Daulet Beg Oldi if the existing Dabruk-Shyok Road is destroyed by the PLA in a worst case scenario.

The new tunnels at Se la, Nechipu in the Tawang Sector and the sanctioned ones in the Ladakh sector will not only show the dominance of the Indian Army, but will enable much faster counter-deployment.

These decisions by the Prime Minister are a complete change from the last couple of decades where border roads were not encouraged with the fear that the Chinese Army may enter.