India won't add fuel to stand-off - Times of India

NEW DELHI: The dominant sentiment coming to the fore in the armed forces is that India should jettison its ultra-defensive mindset towards China, and if it requires "a show of force" to resolve the ongoing military standoff in Ladakh, then so be it. India has now sought a third flag meeting at "a higher level" after the first two meetings on April 18 and April 23 — held at the level of an Indian brigadier\Chinese senior colonel — failed to make any headway in resolving the 10-day-old eyeball-to eyeball confrontation between rival troops in the Depsang Bulge area of Ladakh. The Army has also briefed the China Study Group, led by national security advisor (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon, on the prevailing face-off in Ladakh and suggested different options, including further troop reinforcements to the region. Though the "show of force" option is on the table, the government is unlikely to exercise it to prevent any escalation at this stage. But senior military officers contend the People's Liberation Army is "also unlikely" to agree to an immediate troop pull-back from the area. "It would amount to a loss of face for them. There has been a clear hardening in China's stand in recent times," said an officer. The intrusion by PLA troops as much as 18 km inside what is perceived to be Indian territory in Ladakh, and rubbing it even further in by setting up a camp in tents there, has only served to "validate" the argument that India needs to be "tough" while dealing with China. China has hugely upgraded its military infrastructure all along the 4,057-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) over the last two decades, which allows it to rush troops to the border to outnumber Indian forces by over 3:1. "But when we belatedly begin to build infrastructure, in terms of roads, posts and re-activating advanced landing grounds or airstrips, the People's Liberation Army jumps up to become even more aggressive," said a senior officer. "Such a setting up of a camp within our territory has not happened for several years. PLA is clearly provoking us. We have to respond with a show of force since the only language China understands is that of strength. It will, of course, have to be calibrated to ensure things do not spin out of control," he added. Defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday did say the government "will take every step to protect national integrity and security", but added that "negotiations are on at various levels to resolve the issue peacefully". While agreeing that diplomatic engagement is critical, officers stress India also has to systematically build its "trans-border" military capabilities and "keep its powder dry" for any eventuality. "The government has approved certain measures but the systematic modernisation required to keep China firmly at bay is happening in an extremely haphazard manner," he added. A case in point is the long-standing Army proposal to raise a new mountain corps (around 40,000 soldiers) to plug the operational gaps along the LAC as well as get some ground offensive capabilities against China. The financial approval for the new corps, which will cost around Rs 81,000 crore over six to seven years, is still meandering about in the corridors of North and South Blocks, with it even getting derailed once earlier since "an influential section" in the government contended the "move would be needlessly provocative" vis-a-vis China. Similarly, the Army's "capability development" plan along the northern borders with China, pegged at Rs 26,155 crore, will be completed only by 2020-21. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNECtG8AA9uN5cgeZDn0pZTHHl_itQ&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-wont-add-fuel-to-stand-off/articleshow/19717204.cms

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