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Col Anil Bhat, VSM
(Retd)
Colonel B Santosh Babu, Commanding Officer, 16 Bihar and 19 other
ranks of this battalion and some other units were killed in the
most violent and barbaric close-quarter confrontations over the
past 53 years, begun by Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA)
personnel, who attacked them with iron rods studded with nails,
rods with barbed wire wound around one end and boulders / stones.
This was on the night of 15-16 June 2020, at Ladakh’s extremely
cold Galwan valley in high altitude, near the 4057 kms long disputed/perception-based
India-China border termed as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The confrontation reportedly erupted as the 16 Bihar detachment,
which was overseeing PLA’s disengagement process, tried to remove
a Chinese tent at Galwan Valley. A physical fight started after
the detachment objected to PLA, which did not follow the
disengagement process agreed upon in earlier meetings between
commanders of both armies. The Chinese soldiers targeted Colonel
Babu and killed him with the deadly weapons. The fact that PLA
troops were armed with such weapons makes it obvious that such an
attack was well planned by the Chinese.
After the 1962 Chinese aggression, PLA quite often opened fire
with small arms on Indian troops who they claimed had violated
the LAC. In 1967 at Nathu La, Sikkim, when PLA upped the ante by
using artillery, the Nathu La brigade commander who wanted to
respond with artillery could only do so after approval by the
government. When his request reached through proper channel to
then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, holding the defence portfolio
also, she gave her approval. The end result was about 400 PLA
being killed and a convoy of Chinese vehicles and many bunkers
being destroyed. Thereafter PLA decided to avoid reacting to
perceived intrusions by Indian troops with firearms but instead,
by discussion between the commanders on ground. If at all there
was any physical confrontation following very frequent
transgressions/incursions, almost always by PLA troops they were
dealt with for 53 years, till the 73 days Doklam stand-off in
2017, by Indian Army troops initially joining hands to stop their
PLA adversaries from advancing, or pushing/grappling, or worse,
some fisticuffs and eventually- every time- resolved by
dialogue/discussion between officers of both armies deployed on
ground/ higher field commanders/diplomatic levels, as required.
However, since early May 2020 onwards, PLA beat all earlier
records of this very mild form of unarmed combat and violated all
agreements made for “peace and tranquility” till both the 2018
Wuhan and 2019 Mamallapuram summits.
On May 5, 2020, around 250 PLA and Indian Army personnel clashed
with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the
Pangong Tso (lake) area, in which soldiers on both sides sustained
injuries. On May 9, nearly 150 Indian Army and PLA troops were
engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector.
Varying reports of the injured on both sides then, ranged to 100.
Some more incidents initiated by PLA, at Demchok, Daulat and Beg
Oldi (DBO) and more, increased aggressive patrolling and fresh
deployments in other sectors, are definite indicators of a
considered ratcheting up by China. Indian Army reportedly matched
and mirrored all Chinese moves.
Following the June 15, 2020 evening attack by PLA, while China
has not disclosed PLA’s fatal casualty figure, it is
believed/widely reported as 43. They were reportedly killed later
by Indian troops who reorganised themselves and returned later in
the night to avenge the killing of their 20 comrades. Not
carrying the barbaric weapons that PLA was, they made deadly use
of bayonets. Indian Army’s bayonet training is of an exacting
standard.
While PLA’s strategic infrastructural development in many parts
of the Chinese side of the LAC has been going on since decades,
the same much required, long overdue and vitally important task
on India’s side began in recent years. One such major project
completed at a faster pace is the construction of the 255 kms
long Darbuk–Shyok-DBO road, also called the Sub Sector North
road, including a bridge over the Galwan river, well inside
Indian territory, which has miffed the Chinese.
They did not react much to the construction of road mentioned per
se, but it is a lateral to this road with bridge over the Galwan
river leading towards the LAC, which became a strong reason for
the May 2020 standoff after PLA inducted 5000 additional troops
with artillery guns and infantry combat vehicles at locations
close to the LAC and pitched 100 tents.
Driven by its hegemonic mindset along with constant greed for
power and grabbing foreign territories, the Chinese Communist
Party (CCP)-PLA combo has always been paranoid about its
adversaries or neighbours or target nations improving
strategically or acquiring more or better weaponry. Some earlier
developments, which also irked the Chinese were two exercises
conducted by Indian Army in September and October 2019 in India’s
forward areas of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, respectively.
The one in September 2019 was an integrated military exercise
involving tanks, mechanised infantry, paratroopers and various
other arms of service in eastern Ladakh and that too, just days
after a faceoff between the Indian and Chinese troops in the
region.
The second one in Arunachal Pradesh was an exercise to test the
capabilities of the newly conceived integrated battle groups,
which was carried out in phases in the upper reaches of Arunachal
Pradesh near Tawang and faced some resistance from China but the
matter was resolved through diplomatic channels. Also, a greater
irritant for China in the larger context is India’s abrogation of
Articles 370 and 35A, since August 05, 2019 along with Jammu
& Kashmir and Ladakh being designated as separate union
territories.
Having made the aggressive May 2020 military moves, that too
during the peak period of the Covid 19, or to be precise the
Chinese/CCP virus’ worldwide outbreak and then accusing India of
aggressively trespassing its territory and blocking PLA patrols
and President Xi Jinping exhorting PLA to “be prepared to defend
the nation” is a clear indication of China drawing a red herring
/ attempting to distract attention of China being the emanator of
the deadly virus and 125 nations raising issues against it.
Interacting with this author, Lt Gen SL Narasimhan (Retd),
Director General, Centre for Contemporary China and Studies and
Member, National Security Advisory Board, commented: “Wolf
warrior diplomacy, a euphemism for aggressive behaviour by
China’s diplomats has been on for a few months now…… China’s
increase in comprehensive national power seems to be driving this
behaviour….. It appears that PLA simply wants to assert its
perception of the LAC. Therefore, India’s armed forces must be
prepared for a long haul and ensure sanctity of India’s perception
of the LAC. Also, efforts must continue to get the LAC clarified
so that such incidents can be avoided”.
After about twelve meetings since the first week of May on the
LAC, on June 06, 2020, the Indian and Chinese corps commanders
were to meet to discuss and resolve the stand-off in Eastern
Ladakh at Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC. However, the
Chinese commander who met Lt Gen Harinder Singh, GOC, 14 Corps,
was Maj Gen Liu Lin, commander of South Xinjiang Military Region.
The Chinese appointing an officer one rank junior to meet/confer
with Lt Gen Singh was a clear move aimed as an insult-unbecoming
but not surprising. They addressed the ongoing tussle in Eastern
Ladakh over the heavy military build-up by the PLA along the LAC
there. This was soon followed by another Maj Gen level meeting.
On June 09, 2020, it was reported that PLA’s process of moving
back had begun but only in the areas around patrolling points 14
and 15 in Galwan Valley and another in the Hot Spring area, but
not in Pangong Tso.
On June 15, 2020, it was this process that Col Babu and a
detachment of 16 Bihar were overseeing, when the PLA troops
attacked with the deadly crude weapons mentioned earlier. In
doing so the PLA adhered to its post-1967 Sikkim skirmishes
method of not using firearms against Indian Army, but resorting
to medieval methods and yet again violating / neutralising every
agreement for peace and tranquillity on the LAC since the past
many decades, including Wuhan and Mamallapuram, or for that
matter, any discussions by India’s 14 Corps Commander on June 06,
2020 or thereafter by Maj Gens.
The fact that such moves have been made against India during the
peak period of Covid19’s worldwide contamination only confirms
that China is aiming at total world dominance-both economic and
military. While militarily, India has been a thorn in China’s
side, with the countrywide anti-China sentiment building up on
the streets in India as the 20 brave soldiers last rites are
being seen on tv screens, China may feel the economic sting too.
The May 2020 and much more so in June 2020 Chinese attacks amply
indicate that China intends to continue its hegemony with more
force and try to change the status quo of the LAC by driving out
Indian troops from some of their locations well within Indian
territory.
The CCP-PLA have obviously planned this major attempt to change
the status quo on the LAC by also involving Pakistan and Nepal,
which gave New Delhi an unpleasant surprise of cartographic
changes including Lipulekh etc. That too is an old Chinese ploy
of beginning hegemony.
Pakistan in any case is China’s long- term lackey and may already
be part of its grand plan. It has kept India’s security forces
quite busy in Union Territory Jammu & Kashmir.
The gloves are indeed off. Now New Delhi must ensure that Indian
Army’s mountain corps is made fully ready for foiling further
Chinese military moves. While PLA may be feeling gung-ho about
launching land-grabbing moves, Indian Army must be allowed to
respond to PLA in the “language that it best understands”-like
Nathu La with firearms or Sumdorong Chu without them. CCP-PLA
must also keep in mind that PLA has for many decades been a grand
but un-blooded army.
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