It took India and the Indian Army to show to the world that enough is enough and to challenge the neighbourhood bully, he said.
Indian Army planners find themselves contemplating the possibility of more Chinese intrusions along the contested 3,488-km border. That could lead to the army having to man a 'hardened LAC' round the year, like the LoC with Pakistan, reports Ajai Shukla.
With the two armies again in a face-off at multiple points, there is apprehension of renewed clashes.
Since the June 15 clash, the PLA has inducted large numbers of troops, armoured vehicles and artillery along the LAC, from Depsang and Galwan in northern Ladakh to Hot Springs, Pangong Tso, and Chushul in central Ladakh, to Demchok and Chumar in southern Ladakh.
'The Indian Army is fully prepared for a long and permanent deployment if the PLA does not retreat.'
The memorial has been built at the unit level near the KM-120 post on the strategic road Durbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie, Ladakh. The memorial has names of 20 soldiers and the details of the June 15 operation.
'The Chinese staying put in Pangong Tso, and creating a buffer zone on Indian territory in other areas,' a senior serving general tells Ajai Shukla.
Chinese troops have been camping in the Finger area for over three months now and have even started fortifying their bases there with construction of bunkers and sangars.
'The Chinese are retaining geostrategic pressure on India by keeping troops there and building infrastructure continually.'
A total of around 100 troops took part in the operations from the Indian side while the Chinese had over 350 people on the location.
Since China began this buildup, the Indian side says Chinese troops will have to start the de-escalation. Only then will Indian troops go back. The June 6 meeting agreed to this roadmap.
Within the army, there is growing concern that New Delhi will allow the Chinese to retain the territory they have occupied in the last month.
Did Xi deliver a message to Modi at Mamallapuram, which though couched in a velvet glove was time-bound? What was that message? It is clear Indian/Israeli/US spy satellites would not have missed detecting Chinese troop movements towards the Ladakh-Tibet frontier. Then why did some important functionaries in the Government of India choose to only ask the Russians about this in April 2020? Was Russian reassurance of Chinese troop movements being part of a routine exercise the reason that the Leh-based XIV Corps did not mobilise itself for its annual summer exercises near the LAC? A fascinating excerpt from Iqbal Chand Malhotra's new book Red Fear: The China Threat.
RInstead of disengagement, the Indian and Chinese armies have deployed an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 soldiers each along the LAC. The PLA has deployed S-400 air defence missiles to neutralise the IAF's advantage in air power
'China has forcibly occupied territory it had never occupied before, blocked Indian patrols' access to areas they had patrolled for decades and, most provocatively, killed 20 Indian soldiers.' 'Most countries would regard these as acts of war.' 'New Delhi has apparently taken off the table the option of evicting the PLA with force,' observes Ajai Shukla.
With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA several kilometres inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.
'Our biggest advantage is that the troops are much better trained and motivated than the Chinese and can improvise and manage with a part of the resources.'
