Mutual de-escalation of forces has been put on hold as the Indian Army has also been fully deployed to handle a military emergency, with the PLA displaying no signs of withdrawing the additional reserve troops deployed across the eastern sector prior to the 20th National Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October.
The Chinese PLA has not reduced troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), according to Army Chief General Manoj Pande, who made the confirmation during a press conference on Thursday. Instead, the Chinese PLA is working quickly to upgrade its military along the borders. Since the PLA violations in Galwan, Gogra-Hot Springs, and Pangong Tso on May 5, 2020, he claimed, China has deployed 50,000 soldiers with heavy weapons in advance.
Gen. Pande emphasized the threat posed by the PLA along the LAC, but the primary cause for worry is the expansion of military presence in the eastern sector prior to the 20th National Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2022. Six light to medium combined armed brigades have been sent from Sikkim to Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh, according to the PLA’s rotation of forces.
After Xi Jinping was elected president of China for the third time, the Indian Army initially believed that the deployed additional reserve troops would be sent back to their bases in the PLA’s northern and eastern command. However, the current assessment is that these troops will remain in place to continue applying pressure to India’s eastern sector. India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and national security officials have reacted in kind, undertaking military modernization along the LAC in the same way that China has. They now have the capacity and capability to respond to a transgression in less time than in previous decades.
The Indian military is in a much better position to respond to any PLA aggression thanks to upgraded road, communication, and advanced landing grounds network along the LAC. Local commanders are given the authority to make decisions on the spot rather than having one hand tied behind their back as in the past, which the opposition accuses the Modi government of doing.
Just as the Indian Army along with Air Force and Navy have adequate reserves to tackle any contingency, the Modi government is also not backing down diplomatically and showing keenness to normalize bilateral ties with Beijing till all the friction points in East Ladakh are resolved and de-escalation of forces in line with the 1993-1996 agreements takes place.
After carefully observing the situation on the ground in Tibet and the Xinjiang region, India is taking deliberate and calculated action in response to the May 2020 PLA transgressions, which were a blow to the Wuhan understandings and the Chennai connect that PM Modi had made to truly engage President Xi. The Muslim world will undoubtedly turn a blind eye to Han repression in Tibet and Sunni-dominated Xinjiang region after China brokered a Shia-Sunni détente this month and gained influence in the Islamic world. Only China maintains close relations with Shia Iran, Sunni Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Turkey-Pakistan axis.
In contrast, the Indian Army is completely prepared with reserves to handle any military emergency along the LAC. It is able to stop any PLA infractions as well as launch a counterattack in the western, middle, and eastern sectors of the LAC. Perhaps because of this increased vigilance, any PLA aggression along the LAC is recognized and repulsed in accordance with established procedure.India is concerned about China’s increasing ties to Russia, especially with President Xi’s upcoming trip to Moscow on March 21–22. Both Beijing and New Delhi use hardware platforms, such as fighter jets and aircraft engines, manufactured in Moscow. PM Modi has focused all attention on “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” for developing a military-industrial complex within India precisely because of this. This indigenization effort will receive a boost this year, with ground-breaking outcomes. India is also growing quickly, alongside China.
