'China's basic purpose of taking the Shaksgam Valley was access to the Indian Ocean.'
"The Chinese firmly believe the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without a fight.
"It will keep troubling and pressurising you, sometimes directly, sometimes by using Pakistan or Bangladesh or Nepal or Sri Lanka," says retired Lieutenant General Sanjay Kulkarni on China's recent claim to the Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir.
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.
The former chief of staff of the XIV Corps responsible for the border with China, Pakistan and the Siachen Glacier, he retired as director general, Infantry.
In an interview to Rediff's Archana Masih, General Kulkarni discusses the roots of the Shaksgam problem, why China coerced Pakistan into gifting it illegally and explains why India cannot ever trust China.
What does China's latest claim to the Shaksgam Valley imply?
What is the genesis and history of the problem?
The Shaksgam Valley was gifted by Pakistan to China in 1963 after India's defeat in the 1962 War against China. Pakistan realised it could not stand up to China which had been asserting its claim to the Shaksgam Valley since 1950s.
Pakistan knew fully well that the entire Jammu and Kashmir belonged to India in accordance with the Instrument of Accession signed on October 26, 1947 through which Maharaja Hari Singh formally acceded to India.
However, Pakistan was occupying a sizable portion -- Gilgit-Baltistan and Pak occupied Kashmir which together measures about 84,000 square kilometres.
China took control of Aksai Chin in 1950, which is about 38,000 square kilometres.
The Gilgit Agency had been leased to the British by Maharaja Hari Singh for 60 years in 1935.
Brigadier Ghansara Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir state forces was sent by the Maharaja to take over Gilgit-Baltistan and was appointed the governor of Gilgit in July 1947.
But Major William Brown, who was in charge of the Gilgit Scouts, deposed him in a bloodless coup, imprisoned him and declared independence on November 1, 1947.
Brigadier Ghansara was banished to Kashmir and Gilgit was handed over by the Gilgit Scouts to Pakistan.
In 1948, Baltistan fell to Pakistan despite the heroic stand of Lieutenant Colonel Sher Jung Thapa lasting six months.
He was repatriated and awarded the Mahavir Chakra for the in the Battle of Skardu. He was apparently spared because he had earlier served as adjutant to Douglas Gracey, who was then the chief of the army staff of Pakistan.
The fact remains that the Sakhsgam Valley was gifted to China in 1963.
In 1984, India occupied the Siachen Glacier which adjoins the Shaksgam Valley.
Shaksgam is on the east, Skardu on the west and Siachen Glacier in the middle.
China then built the strategic Karakoram Highway through Gilgit-Baltistan, near Shaksgam.
China wanted to build the Karakoram Highway through Khunjerab Pass and go down to Gwadar.
The construction began in 1959 and was completed in 1979.
The highway runs from Pakistan to the Khunjerab Pass where it enters China.
In 1986 it was opened to the public.
The Chinese highway G219 runs from Tibet to Sinkiang. It is almost 10,000 km long and a major part of it runs through the disputed Aksai Chin.
The Pakistanis did not want the Karakoram Highway to come through Khunjerab Pass, but to a pass through Mintaka Pass.
Mintaka Pass is the tri-junction of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China, but the Chinese refused.
The Pakistanis lost 800 and the Chinese 200 workers over a period of 20 years for construction of the Karakoram Highway.
In 2013, the same Karakoram Highway alignment was taken for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
It is a crucial part of the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) and goes to the Gwadar port in Balochistan. It is a part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The Karakoram Highway is virtually the revival of the old Silk Route.
Why was China so desperate to get Shaksgam?
The Chinese wanted access to the Indian Ocean and that was only via the Khunjerab Pass, through the Karakoram Highway and ending at Gwadar port.
The Chinese always felt -- and even Lord Curzon used to say -- that the only way to fix China is through its weakest point -- the Indian Ocean.
Therefore, China realised it must strengthen itself in the Pacific, the South China Sea and also hold itself in the Indian Ocean.
The South China Sea was very much within their gambit, but the only way to the Indian Ocean was through Pakistan -- on to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
They have a railway line from Beijing to Kashgar which is connected by road to Gwadar.
How important is this strategically?
If the Chinese and Pakistanis join hands, they have the resources to come down to Ladakh and into Leh.
However, the presence of Indian troops in Siachen is a deterrent to China and Pakistan from joining hands in the Karakoram.
Therefore, if that road is constructed to Aghil Pass and is connected to Khunjerab Pass, it will provide them access.
China will connect as much of the Karakoram Pass as they can.
They have also constructed a 170-kilometre artery from Gilgit to Siachen.
How should India respond militarily to Chinese claims?
Militarily, it is very much within the reach of our artillery, missiles and drones. We have to keep it under observation through satellites or other available means.
It is a very hard terrain -- walking even 10 kilometres without a logistic support is extremely difficult.
Preparation is the best form of defence. Once you prepare, you can prevail.
Do you think we need to enhance our preparedness?
We have adequate troops. We must be vigilant. We have to keep vigil using satellites, cyber techniques and communication. Everything has to be monitored.
Even if we don't have a look-see or a peep-see in the area, there are other means to detect their moves.
Four years after the Galwan clash, we had a reset with China last year. Is this now a fresh area of conflict?
China can't be trusted at all. Chinese firmly believe the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without a fight.
If you want to fight, win. If you can't win, don't fight.
It will keep troubling and pressurising you, sometimes directly, sometimes by using Pakistan or Bangladesh or Nepal or Sri Lanka.
China wants India on a tight leash. They want India to keep spending money on defence and stall its progress.
China does not want India to progress. Even if India becomes the third largest economy, China wants it far behind it.
You have served in Siachen. What is your impression of the Shaksgam Valley?
Shaksgam Valley could be seen if you stood on the highest peak -- Indira Col.
You could see the green grass, but it is quite impossible for anybody to climb up.
If there is any movement, our troops can detect it. The traffic of communication will also increase.
It is very important to have boots on the ground at these difficult and strategic locations.
The Chinese spend almost an equal amount in internal security as much as they do on external security.
We are not blind to what China can do. We must keep vigil. We must stand up to them. You can only talk to China from a position of strength -- and that strength has to be economic, technological and military.
Deterrence is a must.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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