Our Correspondent
Kathua, September 23

Soldiers of the Territorial Army today recovered about 40 kg of gunpowder from Dewal village in Billawar subdivision of the district.

The gunpowder was recovered from a house. The owner of the house was not at home at the time of the search and recovery. The Army, however, has detained his wife for questioning.

According to sources, Army jawans cordoned off the house of Khalil Ahmed in Dewal village and after searching the house recovered about 40 kg of gunpowder.

Khalil Ahmed originally belongs to Kindley village of Macheddi tehsil but presently residing in Dewal village, where he has constructed a new house.

Sources said Khalil Ahmed was a contractor and had been providing labour to industries outside the state.

The recovery of a huge amount of gunpowder has raised many questions with the Army looking at various angels.

A Defence spokesperson said, “We had specific information about the explosive and after that we searched the house of Khalil Ahmed and found two bags of 20 kg each full of gunpowder. The owner of the house, Khalil Ahmed, was not found in the house and his wife has been detained for questioning.”

Governor briefed on security situation

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Northern Command chief, met Governor Satya Pal Malik here on Monday. He briefed the Governor about the overall security situation in the forward areas and hinterland of J&K and Ladakh and the anti-terrorist operations being conducted by the Army. The Governor called for continuing the current civil-police-Army collaboration and synergy in combating anti-terrorist activities. TNS

Tribune News Service

Ambala, September 22

An Army man was robbed of his car, mobiles and documents at gunpoint by unidentified persons in Naraingarh last night. The victim has been identified as Amarjeet, who is posted with 36 Motor Division, Garrison Engineer, Palampur.

In his complaint to the police, Amarjeet, a resident of Naraingarh, said he had come on two-day leave from his unit. Yesterday, around 9 pm, when he was on his way towards Palampur in Himachal Pradesh after meeting his in-laws in Yamunanagar, a car hit his car near Sainmajra village in Naraingarh following which he stopped his car and came out.

Amarjeet said, “The unknown person who had hit my car also came out and apologised. Meanwhile, two more cars reached there and four men, who were travelling in the cars, attacked me with sticks. One man pointed his gun at me and asked me to sit in my car.

They kept beating me even inside the car. The person who had hit my car was now driving my car, while I was sitting with two miscreants on the back seat. As we reached an isolated location, they asked me to get down from the car.”

“The person who was holding a gun threatened to shoot me, but as I pleaded to leave me, one of them hit me hard on my head with a stick and left me unconscious in a field. After gaining some consciousness, I reached Gadholi village in Yamunanagar and sought help from villagers there. They took me to the Thana Chappar police station. The accused took away my car, three mobile phones, a wallet and some documents,” he said. The victim was taken to the Civil Hospital, Naraingarh.

A case has been registered under Sections 394 and 34 of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act.

Naraingarh SHO Arvind Kumar said, “During investigation, one of his (Army man’s) three mobiles, which was thrown by the accused, was recovered. A case has been registered and the matter is being further investigated.”

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 21

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Chinar Corps Lt-Gen KJS Dhillon took over the mantle of Colonel of the Regiment (COR) of Rajputana Rifles from Lt-Gen Abhay Krishna, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command, who is retiring on September 30.

In a befitting ceremony at the Rajputana Rifles Regimental Centre, New Delhi, both the incoming and the outgoing Colonels of the Regiment paid homage to the martyrs of the regiment at Veer Sthal, Rajputana Rifles Regimental Centre, followed by the “change of baton” in a special sainik sammelan in the presence of veterans, including former Colonels of the Regiment and all ranks posted in the Regimental Centre, an Army statement said. The outgoing Colonel of the Regiment, Lt Gen Abhay Krishna, has had the unique distinction of commanding three of the six operational commands of the Army, ie South Western, Eastern and Central Commands, in a career spanning over a period of four decades.

Lt-Gen Dhillon was into Rajputana Rifles commissioned in December 1983. General Dhillon who has taken over as the 16th Colonel of the Regiment of Rajputana Rifles, is presently the GOC of Chinar Corps in the Kashmir valley, where he is serving his seventh tenure.

“General Dhillon has played a key role in ensuring total synergy among security forces since taking over the command of Chinar Corps in February this year. His long experience in counter-terrorist operations in Kashmir and leadership were instrumental in the elimination of a large number of terrorists, especially the leadership of various Tanzeems post Pulwama attack, which has paved the way for ushering in peace in the Valley,” the statement read.

Chandigarh, August 24

The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) largest helicopter maintenance and overhaul establishment No.3 Base Repair Deport (BRD) in Chandigarh has been adjudged the best repair depot among 13 such depots of the IAF.

The trophy for the best BRD was presented by Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa to the Air Officer Commanding, 3 BRD, Air Commodore Sanjiv Ghuratia at the Commanders’ Conference – 2019 held at the Maintenance Command Headquarters in Nagpur.

The Air Chief highlighted the significant role played by the Maintenance Command, presently headed by Air Marshal RKS Shera, in meticulous management of the vast and varied inventory of the Air Force.

Appreciating new initiatives by the Command to keep pace with the rapidly changing technological scenario and induction of new aircraft and systems, he underscored the vital role played by the engineers in keeping the IAF combat ready and emphasised the importance of team. Lauding the efforts of the Maintenance Command in supporting other combat commands in maintaining high state of operational readiness at all times, the Air Chief exhorted them to keep upgrading their skills in the fast-changing technological environment.

Set up in 1962, 3 BRD is responsible for the repair, maintenance and overhaul of Soviet and Russian origin helicopters as well as AN-32 aero-engines in the IAF’s service. Besides aircraft modifications and fleet upgrade projects, it is also actively involved in the indigenisation of aerospares. — TNS

KV Prasad
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 21

Raising tension in South China Sea, China has stationed two Coast Guard ships near the ONGC Videsh oil exploration block off the Vietnam coast, besides increasing military activities, including conducting sorties.

Diplomatic sources of Vietnam said here that personnel from these two ships were using loudspeakers asking halting of work on the 0.61 block, where ONGC Videsh works in a joint venture with Russian Rosneft and Vietnam companies.

India is associated with exploration work here for the past 17 years and in the past too Beijing protested commercial oil exploration activity.

Concerned over the presence of some 20 vessels, including eight coast guard ships, 10 fishing boats and two service ships in the area, sources said China returned to the area recently after staying put for 33 days from July 3.

Hanoi says the area where Beijing is moving around fall in Exclusive Economic Zone, a claim disputed by Beijing.

To prevent China from extending claim, Hanoi decided to increase diplomatic pressure amid indication that the issue could be taken to the UNSC. “There is a suggestion that we follow the same China-Pakistan model at UNSC, if Pakistan can take bilateral issue to UNSC, South China Sea is still an international issue,” the sources said.

Vietnam sources said while intention of China was to force Vietnam to draft it as a partner in exploration, they were not certain whether the idea of moving coast guard ships close to the Indian block is linked to New Delhi’s move in J&K.

At the border where every decision determines life and death, soldiers applying diplomacy instead of war-fighting instincts will be disastrous.

recent article in ThePrint suggests that soldiers with qualities of diplomats who are stationed along the India-China border are avoiding skirmishes. The article confuses ‘maturity’ in dealing with day-to-day situation at the border with ‘diplomacy’.

“A nation’s power to impose its will and to achieve its national objectives emanates from its  instruments of national power.” This is an oft-repeated sentence in every diplomatic and military college.

The instruments of national power are political, diplomatic, economic, and military — generally in that order of preference. The latest technological and communication advancements have forced the western countries to consider them as diplomacy, information, military and economics, or DIME.

In this ever-changing world, the ‘information’ in DIME could be replaced with ‘intelligence’ — which is nothing but sifted, analysed and assessed information — to achieve strategic advantages.

Some contemporary US strategists derive power by focussing on MIDLIFE — military, information, diplomatic, law enforcement, financial and economic resources.

Also read: Why soldier-diplomats are key to maintaining peace along India-China border

New ideas

Although innovation and technology must go hand in hand, experimenting any new idea at the borders will be like playing with the lives of well-trained soldiers.

The zone where every decision translates into life and death of thousands of soldiers, one can only hope that sanity prevails and the soldiers remain as steadfast as they should be at the border.

In the Army, we keep harping upon an adage, “Somewhere someone is training to kill you”. While operating in such an environment, if the soldiers apply diplomacy instead of their well-trained war fighting instincts, the consequences will be disastrous.

Confusion galore

Both diplomacy and military are different professions with differing qualities ingrained during training and later to perform certain specific tasks.

The tasks, especially of the military, should never be confused with diplomacy. The synergising of diplomacy and military as instruments of national power can be achieved through Defence Attaches (DAs) in embassies and diplomatic missions.

The diplomats will be happy to have more hands to perform their task. However, the soldier will remain utterly confused.

Also read: Indian Army’s approach to electronic & cyber warfare is nowhere as evolved as China’s PLA

BPMs and flag meetings

India has two very difficult neighbours. They both are particularly unreliable, untrustworthy and pathological liars.

The atmosphere during Border Personnel Meetings (BPMs) is not always hunky-dory.

The Chinese are fiercely aggressive in claiming territory and always point out transgressions. They point out every small road construction and infrastructure development, but do not concede to any points put forth by the Indian Army.

The Chinese, at almost all BPMs and flag meetings, claim territorial transgressions by Indian donkeys. It is worth noting that a wild sanctuary exists between India and Tibet in the eastern parts of Ladakh.

The Pakistanis, on the other hand, prefer to talk about Indian movies and Indian actresses married to Pakistanis.

Both countries always scuttle the matter they should be discussing in the meetings.

The Indian Army has always found itself without intelligence on the other side due to lack of equipment. The sealing limit of our drones is much less than the mountainous region the Indian Army is told to guard.

Also read: America’s Pakistan policy is a farce and will hurt India

Territorial claims

There are many unresolved territorial claims between India and China, between India and Pakistan as also between India, China and Pakistan.

The Shaksgam Valley, which is part of the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, was ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963 but occupied by People’s Liberation Army recently as reported exclusively by  ThePrint.

The soldier should never be tasked to be diplomatic especially when huge territorial claims remain a great irritant in our relations.

There are only two types of soldiers on the battlefield – the good and the dead.

Col (Retired) Vinayak Bhat served in the Indian Army for over 33 years. He was a satellite imagery analyst for more than two decades and served in high altitude areas of J&K and North East. An alumnus of NDA, Pune, he was a mountaineer during his young days, climbing peaks like Stok Kangri and Nun Peak.

Read ThePrint’s razor-sharp editorial take on the news of the day. In just 50 words

White Paper indicates PLA is on a different trajectory altogether

Pravin Sawhney
Strategic affairs expert

China’s recently released White Paper on defence did not get the attention it should have in India. In our obsession with Pakistan, it is forgotten that China is the neighbour we need to worry about.

China claims 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh, does not accept the border with India in Ladakh and has achieved military interoperability with Pakistan. Except for India and Bhutan, all nations in South Asia have joined the OBOR project. Post-Doklam, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) presence in Tibet Autonomous Region has increased substantially. In June 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the visiting US defence secretary, James Mattis, that China would not lose an inch of its territory handed to them by their ancestors.

The paper underlines four peculiarities of PLA’s changing warfare. The first is its exceptional spectrum (short for electromagnetic spectrum, EMS) warfare capability, where by blinding India’s military assets, the PLA could end the war before it is joined, hence winning without fighting. This non-kinetic warfare will be in cyberspace, in which high-grade malware (malicious software) is injected into the spectrum that connects the target engagement cycle comprising satellites, airborne sensors, command centres, missiles and other interceptors through data-links. All modern weapons — airplanes, tanks, satellites, ships, radio — depend on the spectrum to function. By pushing malware into data-links, military assets are blanked, disrupted or debilitated. The war, then, is as good as over.

The Indian military is not prepared for PLA’s cyber offensive, central to its operational strategy. The PLA has consolidated its space, cyber, electronic warfare and psychological warfare assets under the unique Strategic Support Force, which ‘has made active efforts to integrate into the joint operations system. It has carried out confrontational training’.

The second unmatched peculiarity is the PLA Rocket Force, which has under it all nuclear and conventional ballistic, cruise, and soon to be acquired hypersonic missiles. The force ‘has organised force-on-force evaluation-oriented training and training based on operational plans at brigade and regiment level, strengthening training for joint strikes’. The PLA will use its plethora of missiles by itself and to supplement (not as substitute) its air force. India cannot meet this challenge because it has limited numbers, and the PLA with its indigenous and automated production lines can deliver unending salvos of smart, long-range and precise missiles.

The third PLA peculiarity is its mission ‘to safeguard China’s oversea interests’ to include its infrastructure and people. The PLA’s presence would continue to increase in nations which have accepted OBOR. This is being done by the office of international military cooperation, raised during the 2015 reforms, which reports to the Central Military Commission headed by Jinping. Regular interaction between the PLA and militaries of OBOR nations would lead to better understanding of Chinese arms exports and interoperability, and possibilities of PLA air and naval bases or ‘support bases’ there.

The underplayed Digital Silk Road with vast security implications would increase its footprints alongside OBOR’s growing presence. China is building fibre optics cables, mobile structures for installing Huawei 5G wireless technology to introduce common technical standards in these nations. The militaries of these nations would soon be connected to Chinese BeiDou navigation satellite system for e-commerce and military needs.

With the launch of the world’s first intercontinental quantum satellite called Micius in 2016, China has demonstrated long distance cryptography service for secure communications which can’t be hacked. It is expanding quantum communications infrastructure; quantum radar and sensing which would defeat stealth technologies; and quantum compass for submarines.

The fourth peculiarity is ‘the application of cutting-edge technologies such as AI, quantum information, big data, cloud computing and the Internet of things is gathering pace in the military field’. These technologies will shift warfare to virtual battlefields. For example, today a smart cruise missile should be more than ‘fire and forget’ semi-autonomous weapon. It should also have assured data-linking with rear for continuous instructions till desired target is hit. An AI-driven intelligent cruise missile need not have data-linking which is vulnerable to cyberattack. It will do the entire engagement cycle on its own.

In terms of revolutions in warfare, AI-driven warfare where China, if not competing, is giving a run for its money to the US, is the consequence of the fourth revolution. The earlier revolutions were wrought by the steam engine, the age of science, and the rise of digital technology. Since doctrines follow technology, China has taken lead in developing disruptive thinking in warfare to optimally exploit AI. The new military strategic and doctrinal thinking would have little or no resemblance with present warfare.

China wants to complete the modernisation process by 2035, and fully transform the armed forces into world-class forces by the mid-21st century. This means the PLA would achieve human-machine (robot) fusion by 2035, and with the arrival of quantum computers, it would have machines more intelligent than humans.

The Indian military is still entering the digital age. In multi-domain warfare, all domains like air force, army and navy are mere tactical units much like cyber, space, and electronic warfare. Thus, when services’ chiefs say that their service, on its own, is ready for all contingencies, they are talking of fighting the last war, not the next one.

NURPUR, JULY 27

The Damtal police in Indora subdivision has booked a serving Army man, identified as Deepak Rana, of Bahi-Pathiar village, for allegedly raping a girl. Following a complaint of the victim, the police conducted her medical examination and registered a case under Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC against the accused last evening.

As per the police information, the victim in her statement alleged that the accused had allured her on the pretext of marriage. He had taken her to a hotel at Damtal in March and April this year and allegedly raped her. Later, the accused rescinded on his promise to marry and threatened her of dire consequences if she revealed to anyone of their personal and physical relationship. — OC