RB News World Latest News
Related Articles
A ‘patrolling agreement’ has been reached between India and China on the LAC in Ladakh. During the BRICS conference held in Russia, China has also approved this agreement. The armies of both the nations will return to the same position that existed on the LAC before April 2020.
Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has said that as per the agreement between the two countries, we want to return to the status quo of April 2020. We will consider disengagement, de-escalation and general management of the LAC. After the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, many things can be cleared regarding the border dispute. Amidst all this, defense expert Major General (Retired) Dhruv C Katoch says, despite the agreement, we will have to keep a close eye on the Dragon’s ‘salami slicing’ policy. Not only this, after the agreement in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army will decide patrolling or retreat on its own formula. It will not happen that India will retreat as much as China retreats. We will maintain friendship, but will also keep that preparation, so that if ever this agreement breaks, then military operation can be started on time. China’s ‘Salami Slicing’ Policy on the Border
Major General (Retd) Dhruv C Katoch has said, this is a good step. It took four years to reach here. It is not true that this development has happened suddenly. Earlier, whenever such agreements were made between India and China, China used to come two to four kilometers inside the LAC. After that it used to retreat two to three kilometers, but used to occupy some space. This has been named China’s ‘Salami Slicing’ Policy. This is a strategy under which a large area is gradually captured by conducting small military operations.
‘Eyeball to Eyeball Confrontation’ continued
China had thought that the same would happen in Galwan. In 2020, a bloody conflict took place between the armies of the two countries in Galwan. Colonel Suresh Babu attained martyrdom. India had said then, this is not tolerable. It should be ensured that this does not happen in future. Such an incident should not happen again. After that, the armies of both the countries were deployed there. ‘Eyeball to Eyeball Confrontation’ continued between the two countries. There is a risk in this situation. The soldiers of both the countries have modern weapons. The weather is bad, it does not take much time for an incident to happen. India decided that it will not move from there. China also decided that just like they used to go on ‘salami slicing’ earlier, they will do the same this time too.
It is difficult for China to last for a long time
As Dhruv C Katoch, this time China came to know that the first winter has passed and no agreement was reached. The second and third winters also passed. After this, China understood that India is ready to stay there permanently. Our soldiers are anyway stationed in these difficult areas. It was a difficult task for China to stay there for a long time. There was a lot of pressure on them. For the first time in four years, such a situation has arisen that both the countries will go back to the positions they had before 2020. Now we will see what happens. Regarding patrolling up to Finger 8, security expert Katoch says, in the statement that has come from the Ministry of External Affairs, it has been said that wherever patrolling used to happen earlier, now we will go till that point. Meaning, we will go till the point we used to go in 2020.
Patrolling of not more than 15 soldiers
As far as the removal of troops is concerned, it will happen in only a few places. Disengagement has already happened. Now there will be talks on disengagement. The Foreign Minister has said that disengagement will also happen. When India does patrolling, it will inform China. Similarly, when China does patrolling, it will inform India. Patrolling of not more than 15 soldiers will happen. On the ground, it does not seem that the Indian army will retreat completely. China will also not retreat. Yes, both countries can retreat from their current positions. Like we have a brigade there, it may remain as a part of a battalion or half a battalion. The time has not come yet to remove the total force in the middle of Ladakh. Such a situation has not arisen that it is difficult for India to bring the force back there, but not for China.
Russia is a friend of both the countries
On whether PM Modi and the Chinese President will meet at the BRICS summit being held in Russia, Katoch said, there will be a meeting, there is no doubt about it. This is the only opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to meet in the Neutral Territory. Russia is a friend of both the countries. In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India has tried very hard to resolve the matter. In the Israel-Hamas conflict too, India has said that now is not the time for war. Matters can be resolved through dialogue. From the statement of the Foreign Minister that has come now, it appears that there will be a dialogue between the leaders of the two countries in BRICS regarding East Ladakh. If there is no agreement, then further dialogue between the two countries will not progress. They will not have any talks about trade. Trade is one-sided. China wants to forget the border and talk about everything with India. India will not do this. Our attitude is very clear. If you talk about trade, then first an agreement on the border is necessary.
Now a network of roads has been laid there
If the two leaders talk at this time, the issue of East Ladakh will come in between. There is a possibility that after the BRICS summit, some announcement can come out regarding the agreement reached between the two countries on the border. India considers the entire area in East Ladakh as its own, China also enters it. This is the reason for the dispute. However, there is almost an agreement between the two countries regarding the LAC. There is a line, there are armies on both sides of it. If China builds across the line, then India will not comment there. If India does something inside its line, then China does not comment on it. Earlier there were not so many roads in Ladakh. In the last five to ten years, a network of roads has been laid there. China is saddened by the construction of these roads. It questions why India is building roads here. India built roads because China had already built them.
Troops will be removed by direct contact
Katoch said, now if India builds within its line, then China does not have the right to comment. It does not seem that any construction has been done on the no man’s land, where both the countries used to patrol. If China has done any such construction there, India will demand that it be removed. China has an expansionist policy, in view of this, should India completely withdraw its army from there? In response to this question, former Major General Katoch said, making peace on the LAC is a big issue. Removing the military forces is another matter. Troops will withdraw through direct contact. There is no need to keep them there. Forward patrols etc. will remain there. It is very difficult to completely withdraw the military forces. However, the Indian Army will not retreat that much.
Indian Army will retreat by this much
If Chinese troops retreat by 20 kms, it is possible for China to return in 1-2 hours if needed. This is not possible for India. It will be seen how much time Chinese troops will take to return to that point. If China takes 1-2 hours to reach there, then Indian troops will also retreat by the same distance, so that it takes 1-2 hours for them to return. Katoch says that there is nothing like friendship between the two countries with this agreement. Of course, disengagement will also happen after some time. Patrolling will start as before. We will maintain friendship, but we will also be prepared to conduct an operation in case the agreement is broken. It will take some years to end the mistrust, it is not going to end soon.
