“Inch-by-inch” in far-away Demchok..
How many of you read this “news” on 27th? I am guessing most of you missed it. I did too…until I was alerted to it by a friend on fb.
…The government ban on construction in Demchok, one of the disputed points in eastern Ladakh, is riling residents, who claim that the Chinese side is speedily ramping up its infrastructure and the Centre is just ‘watching’
..Even the Leh administration cannot go ahead with any construction activity here without getting it approved from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs.
“When China is steadily building infrastructure on its side, there is no point in imposing restrictions on us,” says Gurmet Dorje, who hails from the area and is an elected councillor in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
Demchok is not just any other town in Ladakh. It is on the “Line of Actual Control” between India and China. It also has a long history of “complaints” (and more recently, “warnings”) by the Chinese. More than 2 years back, in December 2009, China had apparently lodged its protest with India regarding construction of a road in Demchok. More recently, The Tribune newspaper claimed it had
…obtained pictures of Chinese soldiers holding red-coloured banners to warn local residents in the area. “This is the Line of Actual Control, you are on Chinese Territory,” read the banners.
The “history” of Chinese incursions in Demchok goes back to at least a few years...Writing in Jan ’08, Tarun Vijay cautioned us about taking this matter lightly:
Thupstan Chhewang, belonging to the Royals of Leh is a highly respected Ladakhi leader who was once president of Ladakh Congress party. His one member party in Parliament is supporting UPA… His unassuming soft spoken personality exudes confidence and a rare dedication for the cause of his people and the nation. If he has raised an alarm on the Chinese incursions in Ladakh it must be taken seriously.
Of late Ladakh has been witnessing a continuous trespassing by Chinese shepherds and soldiers in Chushul area where we fought a famous war of Trishul mountains led by Major Shaitan Singh (who received Param Vir Chakra after his and his brave men’s bodies were discovered one year after their martyrdom) and in the vast grass lands near Demchok.
…Chinese are known to enter our region in a clandestine manner. In the initial stage they would do it through innocent passages into our territory using shepherds, soldiers and traders. If caught, they would say, oh nothing to worry we simply went wayward.
If not, it continues for years, the intruders would leave their marks, some properties and cattle too. Make some permanent bases. Later these small ‘marks’ would be used to claim that ‘since ages’ Chinese have been using that piece of land – see the ‘proofs’!
We were caught napping during Kargil intrusion. When patriotic Ladakhi shepherds told the Army about Pakistani intrusions initially, it was not taken seriously. In the same way alarms about the latest Chinese intrusion are being taken lightly and in some ‘strategic’ quarters its being suggested that such talks would hamper the growing trade between the two nations.
In Jan ’10, work was abandoned on a road construction project under veiled threats from Chinese:
…The letter (from a village in Ladakh) says that Chinese army officers have been threatening labourers who are making a road under the NREGA scheme.The threats are verbal, but they are enough for the workers to completely abandon the project.
LAHDC Chairman Chering Dorjay said, “People of Demochok were building a road under NREGA scheme, while doing they were threatened by Chinese army. It’s not true that Government had asked them to stop work, people stopped work after they were threatened and subsequently we reported the matter to Deputy Commissioner (DC), Leh.
…Ladakhi authorities say that last January (i.e. in 2009), Chinese army men went as far as to enter Indian territory and assault nomads camping on the winter pastures.Dorjay said, “They came in large numbers and verbally threatened our people and there are incidents when they physically assaulted our people. Last year they burnt one of the tents of our nomad Demchok winter pastures.” In the past, in Ladakh, Chinese helicopters have violated the airspace and their troops had walked way inside Indian territory and painted on the rocks, perhaps all these signs are enough for the Indian side to sit and take a strong note.
This was followed by another “warning” and halting of work in October last year (2010). Although some brave words were uttered by an ex-CM in response, nothing came out of it…
…Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has threatened China of revenge in Leh during summer amid reports of “incursions” into Indian territory in J&K’s Ladakh region.
Farooq Abdullah told reporters in Jammu on Sunday that India will show its strength during summer as there is extreme cold this time in Leh.
The “Establishment” played down these incidents and put them on “perceptional differences about the Line of Actual Control“. But a crucial slip of tongue almost went unnoticed. While referring to Demchok, here is what Chief of Army General VK Singh said:
In this particular case, the so-called T Point… is an area (through which) the Chinese have, over a period of time, felt that the LAC passes through.
That sounded familiar. So I did some digging. Sure enough, this was part of a pattern. So how exactly did the Chinese stance evolve over a period of time? Thanks to Google, I stumbled on this news-report from Aug 2005. That report had “Brigadier Manvendra Singh…officer in charge of the area“, quoted as saying:
Not a single shot has been exchanged in the area (Demchok) and there is complete peace.
What happened between 2005 – 2011? And was this change from an environment of “complete peace” to incremental aggression a well-calibrated Chinese tactic? There are reasons to worry…A PTI report from Jan ’10 mentions how their is unanimity amongst officials that:
..we (India) are withdrawing from LAC and our area has shrunk over a period of time. Though this process (is) very slow but we have lost substantial amount of land in 20-25 years
Why does this matter? While I am hardly qualified to comment on the strategic importance (or otherwise) of Demchok, one thing is clear. It would be a mistake to ignore Demchok as just another sleepy town in the mountains…For one, it is bang on the border with India’s most dangerous strategic rival. It is also possibly the shortest (and easiest) route to Kailash Mansarovar.
Related Post: Inch by inch, slowly but surely, we keep loosing territory…
After reading breaking india by Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan, I dont think we will survive as Hindustan for too long. The faster we realize this the better it is for our and our children future. Mera Bharat Mahan
shyam, Instead of running away the BI book should motivate us to unite and fight for our survival.
It is time we Indians unitedly vote out congress.Congress under Sonia is least concerned about nation.Sonia want to disintegrate India thereby destroying Hinduism.Remember ultimate target is our religion.Let us raise above caste & religion & vote out congress once for all.
Courtesy, Naveen , from China red flags Indian road:
…ndia has abandoned construction of an eight kilometre border road in Demchok after threats from Chinese soldiers. But China’s duplicity is all too evident. It speeded up infrastructure across the Indus including survellieance systems.
…
Aggressive posturing by China has brought the development activities to a screeching halt in forward areas and the latest casualty is the construction of an irrigation canal in Demchok area. On contrary China is making stride in infrastructural build up on its side
…On a hill across the Indus river the Chinese have built a green roofed structure overlooking the Indian territory. Also a horse stable for chinese soliders and even a radar and survelliance system.
…
The angry people of Ladakh have started questioning India’s soft policy towards China and now the Government of India’s recent decision to put a blanket ban on the sort of construction work all along the border has made the people feel that India is giving way under Chinese pressure.
Placing here for the record: Chinese troops enter India, dismantle bunkers. Some excerpts:
14 Sep 2011 05:44:18 PM IST
LEH: Chinese troops are reported to have entered into Indian territory and destroyed some old Army bunkers and tents in Chumar division of Nyoma sector
…While some reports suggested that the Chinese troops in helicopters entered one-and-a-half kilometres into Indian airspace, other reports said that the helicopters landed in Chinese territory and then the troops marched into the area to dismantle the bunkers, a move aimed at displaying that the area belonged to them.
The Army denied that any such incident had taken place.
..Another version quoted to eyewitnesses, who are often the grazers, said that Chinese helicopters landed near the Line of Actual Control and then marched in to destroy old bunkers of the army and tents of ITBP.
…senior Army officials said that Chumar was an area were the LAC was not clearly demarcated and there was always a difference of perception in the area.
Chinese troops had in July 2009 entered nearly 1.5 KM into Indian territory near Mount Gya, recognised as international border by India and China, and painted the boulders and rocks with red spray paint.
The incursions were reported from the area, generally referred in the Chumar sector in east of Leh, and painted “China” in Cantonese with Red spray paint all over the boulders and rocks.
On June 21 in 2009, a Chinese helicopter had entered the Indian airspace and is reported to have air-dropped canned food again at Chumar, which is northeast of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir..
Placing this here for the record:
China ‘stalls’ J&K irrigation project
Published: Monday, Aug 20, 2012, 9:12 IST By Ishfaq-ul-Hassan | Place: Srinagar | Agency: DNA
The Chinese Army has reportedly forced the Jammu and Kashmir government to suspend work on the irrigation project in Leh district of Ladakh division.
Work on the project had started in 2004-05. Last month, the Chinese Army threatened the workers and officials to stop the work. However, they did not cross the line of actual control this time around.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_china-stalls-j-and-k-irrigation-project_1730132
Posting this in full. 25 years on, Wangdung remains with the Chinese:
Misamari, Jan 30: For the Indian army’s 4 Corps that defends the country’s borders with China in the east, Wangdung was never the ‘flower on the lofty heights’ that Imphal and Kohima came to be for the Japanese during World WarII. But though the position could have been easily retaken by ‘limited offensive action’, Wangdung remains in Chinese hands, more than a quarter of a century after the Chinese took over the abandoned bunkers of our Special Services Bureau (SSB) in the winter of 1986.
“That upsets many of our forward units which were prepared to throw them out and were confident of doing so, but we have been restrained by the Indian government from doing anything that will escalate the situation in the sensitive eastern Himalayas,” said a serving major general commanding a division in Arunachal Pradesh.
He, however, told the Seven Sisters Post on condition of strict anonymity that the Indian army dominates the heights and other positions around Wangdung.
“The Chinese are not able to get any tactical advantage out of their position at Wangdung but for our soldiers, that remain a sore — a position we lost and which was not regained,” he said.
But the heights around the area have dotted with high grounds with names like ‘Ashis Top’ and ‘Jay Top’ — named after officers of the Indian army who evicted the Chinese from these high ridges with offensive actions that were never reported in the media. Many died on both sides in intermittent skirmishes, that could have escalated to a second war between the two giant neighbours but didn’t. Many bravehearts of the Assam regiments were involved in this fighting.
Sumdorong Chu (Sangduoluo He for Chinese) is a rivulet flowing north-south in the Thag La triangle, bounded by Bhutan in the west and the Thag La ridge to the north.
On June 26, 1986, India lodged a formal protest with China against intrusions in the Sumdorong region beginning on June 16. Beijing denied any intrusions and maintained that its troops were in a location north of the McMahon Line, though India maintained the Chinese troops had intruded south of the Line. The actual region of the incursion was the Thandrong pasture on the banks of the Sumdorong Chu in the Wangdung region, which falls under the Zimithang circle of Tawang district. Initial reports put the number of Chinese at 40 — some of them armed and in uniform — who were soon reinforced to a total strength of about 200 men. Statements by Indian ministers in the Parliament described the intrusion as being between 1-2 km deep as the crow flies, supplied by mules along a 7-km trail.
By August 1986, the Chinese had constructed a helipad and began supplying their troops by air. Regarding the Chinese presence as a fait accompli and to prevent further ‘nibbling’, the Indian Army began aggressive patrolling across Arunachal Pradesh at other vulnerable areas. In September ’86, India sought a way out of the crisis by offering not to re-occupy the area in summer of 1987, if the Chinese withdrew in the winter.
This offer was rejected by China whose troops were by now prepared to stay through the winter. By September-October, an entire Indian Army brigade of the 5th Mtn. Division was airlifted to Zimithaung and ‘Operation Falcon’, focused on the occupation of ridges overlooking the Sumdorong Chu valley (including Langrola and the Hathung La ridge across the Namka Chu rivulet) was initiated.
In October, 1986, China warned it will teach India “a lesson” and started a chorus of protests when Arunachal Pradesh was made a full state of the Indian Union on 20 February, 1987. China moved in 20,000 troops from the ’53rd Army Corps in Chengdu and the 13th Army in Lanzhou’ by early 1987 along with heavy artillery and helicopters. By early April, it had moved 8 divisions to eastern Tibet as a prelude to possible belligerent action. Troop reinforcements on the Indian side — which had begun with Operation Falcon in late 1986 — continued through early 1987 under a massive airland exercise ‘Operation Chequerboard’, that involved 10 divisions of the Army and several squadrons of the IAF and redeployment of troops at several places in the Northeast. One-third of the fresh deployment was in and around Wangdung, where they were supplied and maintained solely by air.
Frayed tempers were calmed after both sides decided to continue talks and pull back troops from a position of ‘close confrontation’ in Sumdorong Chu valley. Following the Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on April 1995, the two sides agreed to a simultaneous withdrawal of their troops from the four border posts — two Indian and two Chinese — in the Sumdorong Chu.
But while the Chinese withdrew beyond the Macmahon Line after the 1962 war, they continue to retain Wangdung — and that itches forward units of the Fourth Corps.
Meanwhile, Chinese troops sneak 10 km into Ladakh, PTI news, April 19:
In a deep incursion, Chinese troops have entered the Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in eastern Ladakh and erected a tented post, setting the stage for a face-off with Indian troops.
A platoon-strength contingent of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) came 10 km inside the Indian territory in Burthe in DBO sector, which is at an altitude of about 17,000 feet, on the night of April 15 and established a tented post there, according to highly placed sources, which said that a Chinese Army Platoon usually consists of around 50 men.
Troops from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have also established a camp approximately 300 metres opposite the location, the sources said. The ITBP has asked for a Flag meeting with the Chinese side but there has been no response as of now, sources said.
…
The DBO, located in northernmost Ladakh, is an historic camp site and located on an ancient trade route connecting Ladakh to Yarkand in Xinjiang, China.
It lies at the easternmost point of the Karakoram Range in a cold desert region in the far north of India, just 8 km south of the Chinese border and 9 km northwest of the Aksai Chin LAC between China and India. Temperature plummets as low as minus 30 degree Celsius in the winters.
Other than Siachen Glacier military base, it is India’s northernmost built-up area.
Placing this link here for the record: The border according to China by Claude Arpi
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