New Delhi:
Army Chief General Bikram Singh presented to the Prime Minister and senior cabinet ministers today tougher options that India has to handle the border stand-off provoked by a Chinese platoon pitching tents about 19 km inside Indian territory in Ladakh. A third flag meeting between the two sides yesterday failed to break the deadlock. Beijing has so far insisted that it has not violated the border.
Here are 10 big developments in this story:
Sources said General Singh suggested to the Cabinet Committee on Security that if ordered, the Army can cut off the route through which supplies reach the five tents that the Chinese troops have set up in the Depsang Valley near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border.
The Army, he reportedly said, could also counter the Chinese incursion by setting up an Indian Army presence in another area which is contentious or disputed.
Another option that General Singh offered, sources said, was that the Army could resume patrolling the border, which has been disrupted by the Chinese presence, skirting the neighbour's camp though that would take the patrol very close to another Chinese camp at Aksai Chin.
The most the government is likely to pursue is continue with the diplomatic efforts it is making to persuade the Chinese to withdraw.
The Army Chief has also briefed the China Study Group, headed by National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, which reviews all engagement with China, including patrol schedules at the border.
At a third flag meeting between army commanders from both countries yesterday, China reportedly suggested that the two armies increase the distance between the temporary camps that they have set up. After the Chinese incursion, Indian troops have set up camp just 500 meters away.
India rejected this offer, saying that nothing short of complete withdrawal of the Chinese troops from Indian territory will do.
But in China's offer, India sees the first signs of willingness to compromise and hopes this could eventually lead to a return to the "status quo" before the incursion.
Though New Delhi has said it is prepared for the long haul as neither side blinks, it is in a hurry to resolve the crisis with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid having confirmed that his plan to visit Beijing on May 9 is on track. The Chinese premier Le Keqiang is scheduled to visit India on May 20.
The Opposition and leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, who provides external support to the government, have criticised Mr Khurshid's planned visit and accuse the government of being "weak." The BJP's Yashwant Sinha said today that the Congress-led government is "bowing to a bully."
Post a comment