As a serial infiltrator into disputed territories, Beijing has no grounds to complain about who goes where on Indian soil

T hat China has professed displeasure over a recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh by Richard Verma, the US ambassador to India, is both unsurprising and irrelevant. Beijing is merely effecting to be hopping mad, when it has no leg to stand on. Resorting to classic 1950s Communist Party vernacular, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang pronounced that Beijing was “firmly opposed” to Verma’s visit to Tawang — how does one oppose something that has already happened? — on the highly dubious grounds that it might “damage the hard-earned peace and tranquillity of the China-India border region.” Lu told a press briefing in Beijing that “any responsible third party should respect efforts by China and India to seek peaceful and stable reconciliation, and not the opposite.” He went on: “We urge the United States to stop getting involved in the China-India territorial dispute.”

PTI(Left to right): US ambassador to India Richard Verma, chief minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal and chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu at Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, October 21

One imagines he wagged an admonishing finger as he spoke.

For all the faux umbrage, Lu’s argument is bunkum. The travel plans of a foreign envoy, even one from the US, represent no material threat to relations between India and China. Nor does Verma’s visit to Tawang in any way compromise his government’s “respect” for India-China peace. Lu knows this, and it’s not the point: Although the scolding was notionally directed at Verma, the message was meant for the Modi government. Beijing knows the ambassador would not have made the trip without New Delhi’s knowledge and blessing.

What China is reminding India, with all the subtlety of a giant dam across the Yangtze, is that it will not renounce its claims to the swath of Arunachal Pradesh it calls “South Tibet”. If India thinks allowing ambassadors to visit might change the status quo, then it is sorely mistaken.

But there’s nothing to suggest this was India’s calculation — New Delhi views the status quo in Arunachal Pradesh quite differently. Its reaction to Lu’s pouty posturing was as bland as it was blunt: “The US Ambassador visited Arunachal Pradesh, a state which is an integral part of the country to which he is accredited. There is nothing unusual in it,” said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs.

Swarup is an accomplished novelist (he wrote the book that became the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”) and it can’t have been easy to restrain himself from using much more colourful language — and from exercising an entirely different finger gesture.

Were he not shackled by diplomatic considerations, he might have mentioned that if the “hard-earned peace and tranquillity” along the India-China border is being damaged, it is not by the scheduled and advertised visit of the American envoy, but by the clandestine infiltration along the frontier by Chinese troops. There were 350 such transgressions last year alone. India’s restraint in this matter has been remarkable.

Swarup might also have pointed out that China is a fine one to preach about the need to tread carefully on disputed territory, when its soldiers have been spotted in border posts in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir: Earlier this year, Chinese officers were seen in the Nowgam sector, close to the Line of Control. Imagine the hyperventilating in Beijing if Verma had been accompanied by a handful uniformed US army officers!

Other soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army have made their presence felt near the Tangdhar sector. The ostensible reason is the construction of a hydel project there by a Chinese company, but that’s not much of an excuse: Either Beijing doesn’t trust its ally, the Pakistani military, or the soldiers are there for another reason.

There will be many more excuses for a growing Chinese troop presence in PoK in the months ahead. Beijing is literally bulldozing a highway, known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, through areas India regards as its own. CPEC, a $46 billion project that seeks to connect the Chinese province of Xinjiang to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, will pass through Gilgit-Baltistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj have expressed New Delhi’s reservations about this to Beijing, with little effect.

Nor has Beijing been especially accommodating of the claims of other nations in the South China Sea littoral, where international arbitrators have ruled against its spurious proclamations of ownership. China has opposed India-Vietnamese oil exploration in the area, and maintains, without explanation, that there are no parallels between its presence in PoK and India’s commercial pursuits in the South China Sea. What’s more, operating on the principle that possession is nine-tenths of the law, China is building islands in disputed waters with the sole purpose of turning its claims into a fait accompli.

Two can play that game. Having dispensed with Beijing’s blather over the American envoy’s North-Eastern trip, the MEA should now consider building metaphorical islands in Arunachal Pradesh. The area is ripe for tourism, especially of the environmental kind favoured by many Westerners and a growing number of Indians. An economic corridor in Arunachal Pradesh would be welcomed by locals for the jobs and opportunities it would bring.

In the meantime, the Modi government should encourage more foreign diplomats to visit Tawang — individually, and in groups. After all, as Verma tweeted after his trip, it is a place of “stunning mountains and wonderful people.”

Better yet, why not hold an international event there, inviting ALL foreign envoys currently in New Delhi? Yes, China’s too.

New Delhi, October 25

The salary of the President and the Vice-President may go up three times as the Union Home Ministry has prepared a proposal for raising emoluments of the country’s top two functionaries.The move comes following the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations that has created an anomalous situation in which the salary of the President is Rs 1 lakh less than that of the country’s top-most bureaucrat, the Cabinet Secretary. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The proposal is expected to be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval soon.At present, the President gets Rs 1.5 lakh per month, the Vice-President Rs 1.25 lakh and the Governor of a state Rs 1.1 lakh. As per the latest proposal, the President’s salary may go up to Rs 5 lakh and the Vice-President’s up to Rs 3.5 lakh.After the implementation of the Pay Commission’s awards, the Cabinet Secretary, the top-most bureaucrat in the country, gets Rs 2.5 lakh per month and a Secretary in the Union Government gets Rs 2.25 lakh per month.After the Cabinet nod, the Bills will be tabled in Parliament, possibly in the coming winter session.The salaries of the President, Vice-President and Governors were last hiked in 2008 when Parliament approved a three-fold increase. — PTI

INS Viraat is expected to be decommissioned by end of this year. Photo: Twitter handle @indiannavy

Kochi, October 23

INS Viraat, the world’s oldest aircraft carrier, was accorded a grand send-off from the port city here on Sunday, after over five decades of its service to the Navy.The ship, which underwent a decommissioning refit, is being towed back by three tugs to Mumbai for the decommissioning ceremony, a Navy official said here.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The final journey of the carrier began with Navy officials led by the Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Nadkarni bidding farewell to the carrier at Ernakulam Wharf of Cochin Port Trust this morning.Viraat is expected to be decommissioned by end of this year, after 55 years of service, including 27 years with the Royal Navy (British Navy).The Navy has agreed to hand over INS Viraat to Andhra Pradesh government after its decommissioning.The AP government had shown a keen interest in getting INS Viraat, the oldest aircraft carrier operated by Indian Navy, to berth in Vizag for promotion of tourism after its decommissioning. — PTI

Vikram Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 22

BJP Member of Parliament Shamsher Singh has said that Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Gilgit and Baltistan were our homes and India had initiated the process to liberate them from the illegal occupation of Pakistan.He said the surgical strikes in PoJK to eliminate terrorists from the area were the first step by the Central government in this direction and soon the areas would be liberated. He, however, reserved his comments on the next move by the Central government to liberate the occupied areas by Pakistan, saying, “These are internal matters of the government which cannot be made public.”The Rajya Sabha member said the Centre was considering the issue seriously.On the opening of fire by Pakistan on both international border and Line of Control, Shamsher Singh said: “Frustrated by India’s action through surgical strikes, Pakistan has taken to its oft-repeated retaliation on borders. This is momentary and will die down soon. There is nothing much to worry about it.”The BJP MP was speaking at the sidelines of a seminar.

India, Pak not at brink of war: Omar

QUOTE: “I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the subcontinent. I’d like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be,” Omar Abdullah, former CM

New York, October 22

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah does not see an imminent war looming between India and Pakistan despite heightened tensions along the Line of Control (LoC). He believes the two countries are a “lot more careful” about the prospect of war than some of the news channels would like them to be.“I don’t believe we are,” Omar said when asked whether India and Pakistan were at the brink of war.“I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the subcontinent. I’d like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be,” he said at a conference titled ‘India and Pakistan: A Subcontinental Affair’, organised by the students of New York University on Friday.Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf was also scheduled to speak at the conference but cancelled his appearance at the last minute, citing “security concerns”.There were several moments of animated discussions, some heated arguments and loud cheers during Omar’s nearly hour-long discussion with the gathering, that included students from both India and Pakistan, on Kashmir, surgical strikes by India, killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, tension with Pakistan, plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370.Omar said while there was tension along the LoC and ceasefire was “under a bit more pressure” than it was at the same time last year, India and Pakistan were not at the brink of war.He noted that the Government of India had been careful “in moderating how it has sold” to the rest of the world the surgical strikes conducted across the Line of Control.“The Government of India has been careful in explaining what they have done post the Uri militant attack. They have told the world this (surgical strikes) was an anti-terror operation conducted in the vicinity of the LoC,” he said, adding that the government has not gone into details of how far they had gone inside the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.“What that has allowed is for an opportunity for a sort of a more nuanced response on the part of Pakistan,” he said, adding that there will have been “enormous pressure” on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to retaliate had the Indian government spoken of how far they had gone across the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.The former CM said the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan added to the “mood of gloom” in the Valley because “no state more than Jammu and Kashmir suffers on account of a downturn in relations between India and Pakistan”. — PTI

Achieving a strategic shift in Islamabad should be the goal, which is in danger because of premature celebrations

In Uttar Pradesh, the recent retaliatory commando raids across the LoC have taken on a new meaning. On Dussehra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared at a Ram Lila in Lucknow, holding a faux sudarshan chakra. Across the state, posters featuring Modi, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and assorted BJP leaders have been plastered, along with silhouettes of soldiers, hailing the triumph of the “avengers of Uri”.

PTIPrime Minister Narendra Modi has now signalled a zero tolerance for jihadi activity so he is now committed to respond each time an incident occurs. But we are still a long way from cracking the tough Pakistani nut

In the recent narrative, India seems to have had three military victories: The unambiguous triumph that led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the somewhat ambiguous Kargil victory of 1999, and now, the “surgical strikes” of September 29, 2016, which have been declared to be a great victory, even though it has not quite achieved its goal — getting Pakistan to dismantle its terrorist infrastructure.

The war of 1971 lasted two weeks, with the loss of more than 3,800 officers and jawans. The Kargil operation lasted roughly two months with the loss of some 470. In the surgical strike, which lasted several hours, fortuitously no one was killed.

The reason why the government is furiously making all kinds of claims, including that the Indian Army is now as good as the one of Israel in counter-terrorism, has to do with electoral politics. The use of military achievements to win elections is not new. But conflating a limited border operation to a military triumph certainly is, especially as it is aided by sections of an over-the-top media that seems to have lost its balance. The army itself has been low-key and the DGMO’s statement announcing the attacks was factual and made none of the claims subsequently adduced on their behalf.

Elections have played a role in all three victories. In March 1971, Indira Gandhi called for general elections and crushed the Opposition, in the main the dissident Congress and Jana Sangh. Strengthened enormously, she began the military-diplomatic moves that led to the surrender of the Pakistani army and the break-up of the country. Months after the war, in March 1972, she called for elections to 16 assemblies and the Congress swept them all.

In 1999, having been voted out of power in the midst of the Kargil crisis, Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to the polls with the “Kargil victory” as a slogan, accompanied by the same kind of media hype we see today. It didn’t wash, the BJP managed to win 182 seats, the exact number it had in the outgoing Lok Sabha. But it formed the government because the Congress did particularly badly.

The assembly elections in UP are due in a few months. At this juncture, we can only guess on the outcome, but one thing that is clear is that the BJP is going all out to make the maximum political use of what it says is a famous “victory”.

The surgical strikes are witnessing some of the repeat of the Kargil scenario, when the ruling party raised the din of the victory so high that the failure to detect intruding Pakistanis for several months was papered over. TV studios have constructed their own war room sets complete with anchors in war correspondent’s gear. As for politicians, they are truly over the top.

What would Indira Gandhi have said of Parrikar’s claim that “Like Hanuman, Army didn’t know its power, I made our armed forces realise their power”? Just how a supposedly cultural organisation like the RSS inspires a tactical military strike is another unfathomable mystery.

Parrikar insists that the strikes have been the most outstanding achievements of the army in the past 30 years. In claiming this, he does grave disservice to the brave personnel who have conducted such operations since 1993, sometimes going deeper into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir than the soldiers did this time. His job is higher management of the defence portfolio and he needs to be seen as a responsible member of the National Nuclear Command Authority and the Cabinet Committee on Security

In democracies, using military achievements for elections are not unusual. But it’s worth looking at the outcomes of our listed “victories”. Indira Gandhi squandered her mandate, and in three years declared the Emergency. Vajpayee wisely consolidated the NDA and ordered the Kargil inquiry, which led to the first systematic reform in India’s defence system since the mid-1960s.

It is one thing to declare that our army is the best in the world, it’s quite another thing to be taken in by one’s own rhetoric. There are lots of gaps in the army’s organisation, equipment, doctrine and professional education. As defence minister, Parrikar’s first job is to address these issues, not win elections.

Modi has now signalled a zero tolerance for jihadi activity so he is now committed to respond each time an incident occurs. But we are still a long way from cracking the tough Pakistani nut and getting it to abandon support to terrorism. The strikes have been a great tactical success, but the real triumph will be in achieving a strategic shift in Islamabad. The strikes are only one element in what could be a sophisticated strategy of compellence; however, that strategy is already in danger of getting derailed by the premature celebrations of victory

Islamabad, October 11

A prominent Pakistani journalist has been barred from leaving the country after he reported a rift between the civilian and military leaderships over the powerful ISI shielding terror groups like the Haqqani network and LeT that led to Pakistan’s international isolation.Cyril Almeida, a columnist and reporter for the Dawn newspaper, tweeted he has been told that he has been put on ‘Exit Control List’—a system which allows Pakistan government to bar people from leaving the country.“Puzzled, saddened. Had no intention of going anywhere; this is my home. Pakistan. I feel sad tonight. This is my life, my country. What went wrong,” Almeida tweeted.PM Nawaz Sharif yesterday asked authorities to take “stern action” against people responsible for publishing the “fabricated” story. The daily today stood by the story issued on October 6, saying it was “verified, cross-checked and fact-checked”. — PTI

India believes Pakistan will resort to a major strike in J&K using terrorists, but there won’t be an attack by Army regulars. pti

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 11

Buoyed by a “positive signal” from global powers and the international “cold-shoulder” to Pakistan, following the September 29 strikes by the Indian Army across the Line of Control (LoC) to target terror  camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Indian security establishment has devised a “three-S” formula to respond to terror threat originating from across the border.“Speed, Skills and Surprise” will form the fulcrum of the “three-S” formula. The “skills” shall include stealth and training to carry out responses in future as the security establishment knows that cross-LoC raid or strike at multiple locations cannot be repeated after every terror attack in India.Pakistan’s “low-cost” option of waging a proxy war by sending terrorists to India can no more remain viable in the long run; the unpredictability that will be factored in the “three-S” formula, would  be a deterrent, a source told The Tribune.Within hours of the cross-LoC strikes, Russia, China and the US made it clear that they “stood by” New Delhi’s response. While China asked both sides to scale down tension and resort to dialogue, the US and Russia, in separate statements, called on Pakistan to end terrorism originating from its soil.On September 30, Moscow said, “We expect that the Pakistan government should take effective steps in order to stop activities of terrorist groups in the territory of the country.”US National Security Adviser Susan Rice called on Pakistan “to take effective action to combat and de-legitimise United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and their affiliates.”Within India, an assessment within the security establishment is that Pakistan will attempt to retaliate through terror strikes even as citizens in its own country have questioned the wisdom of engaging with India.New Delhi believes Pakistan will resort to a major strike in Jammu and Kashmir using terrorists, but there won’t be an attack by Pakistan Army regulars. India’s response to such a strike will depend on the nature of the attack, but so far it’s almost certain that “no war” looms on the horizon unless Pakistan is hell-bent on taking on the economic and military might of India.

Ambala October 10

Ex-servicemen today protested political parties and criticised them for seeking evidence of surgical strikes and said politicians must not drag the Army into politics.Subedar Atar Singh Multani, president, Ex-servicemen Welfare Committee, Ambala, said: “The Army is not supposed to give proof of operations carried out by it. The surgical strikes were a confidential operation and the politicians must stop questioning the Army.” He said it was an insult to the Army and martyrs who laid their lives for the country. Later, they burnt Chinese lights and called upon the public to boycott Chinese products. — OC