More than 15 months into the military stand-off in eastern Ladakh, the deadlock persists as India and China are not agreeable on the sequence of pulling back troops.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 25

More than 15 months into the military stand-off in eastern Ladakh, the deadlock persists as India and China are not agreeable on the sequence of pulling back troops.

Sticking point

• India says troops in close proximity should ‘disengage’ first, while de-escalation and de-induction can take place later
• China says de-escalation and de-induction should take place first, while troops in close proximity can ‘disengage’ thereafter

Kargil Vijay Diwas today

HUMBLED BY SACRIFICES

I pay tribute to the bravehearts who fought for and defended the sovereignty and integrity of our great nation. I am humbled by the sacrifices of our families that unflinchingly sent their loved ones into battle. On this day, let us rededicate ourselves to be resilient and fearless in the face of adversity. – Gen MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff

Salute to bravehearts

The Kargil war is a symbol of the valour and discipline of our armed forces, which the entire world has witnessed. This time, this glorious day will be celebrated in the middle of ‘Amrit Mahotsav’. That’s why it becomes even more special… Let us all salute the bravehearts of Kargil. – Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Both sides have around 75,000 troops lined up on either side of the 832-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. India wants a three-step process to be followed. The first step being disengagement from areas where troops are within close proximity. The next two steps — de-escalation and de-induction —would entail pulling back troops and equipment to the pre-April 2020 home bases.

Commanders of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) want that “de-escalation and de-induction” should take place first. The troops in close proximity can “disengage” thereafter, sources say.https://9b7d56225b55455ce2806a86c4d5ef96.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Indian side sees a red flag in the sequence suggested by China. The terrain of Tibetan plateau is flat on the Chinese side, which means the PLA can induct troops quite rapidly. In some cases, it may take less than 8-10 hours by road or rail.

In case of India, the two roads leading to Ladakh (one via Srinagar-Zojila and the other via Manali) remain closed due to snow for around seven months in a year. For India, the terrain does not allow rapid induction as several high passes, which get snowbound from October, can hold back even the infantry. Senior military commanders (Lt Gen-level) of either side last met on April 9. Since then, the dates and agenda for the next round of talks are being firmed up. PLA’s insistence on its own sequence of pullback is the stumbling block. Negotiations will take some time, sources say. On February 10, troops of either side started “disengagement” along the banks of Pangong Tso, a 135-km glacial lake. Following disengagement from that area, the process remains stalled.

The present position of troops from both sides is not face-to-face, but they are within the striking range from where rapid redeployment is possible. There have been no face-offs and no escalation since February. Both sides remain in touch. “We continue to hold dialogue,” sources maintain.

There have 1,450 contacts made through either the phone or physical meetings at designated meeting points at Daulat Baig Oldie and Chusul, sources say. A hotline exists between these points, they add.

The House also compliments weightlifter Mirabai Chanu for wining a silver in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics

M Venkaiah Naidu. PTI file

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 26

On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas on Monday, Rajya Sabha paid homage to soldiers who lost their lives in the conflict that took place between India and Pakistan in the icy heights of the Himalayas in 1999.

“The display of exemplary courage, selfless dedication and unflinching determination towards the goal of the mission by our soldiers in treacherous terrain in inclement weather will remain etched in our memory forever. The saga of their unparalleled valour and gallantry will continue to inspire generations after generations to dedicate themselves to the cause of the nation. Today, on behalf of the whole House and on my own behalf I pay glowing tributes to the indomitable spirit and supreme sacrifice of our brave soldiers who went above and beyond their call of duty to protect our motherland and secure our lives,” Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said reading out from a written statement.

The House then observed silence in memory of the soldiers who died.

The House also complimented weightlifter Mirabai Chanu for wining a silver in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. Naidu said she had made all Indians proud.

At 5.62 lakh, Punjab has the third highest number of ineligible beneficiaries under PM-Kisan scheme. – File photo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20

The Centre has transferred nearly Rs 3,000 into the accounts of over 42.16 lakh ineligible farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme and it was now in the process of recovering the amount.

The maximum ineligible beneficiaries who received the money were in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, according to a written reply by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in the Lok Sabha to a question related to disbursal of funds under the scheme. Under PM-Kisan, the Centre transfers Rs 6,000 each year to farmers across the country in three equal instalments. The scheme has eligibility criteria, like the farmer should not be an income tax payee.

Tomar said Rs 2,992 crore was to be recovered from 42.16 lakh ineligible farmers who had got money under the scheme. The maximum ineligible farmers who got the benefit were in Assam (8,35,268), followed by Tamil Nadu (7,22,271), Punjab (5,62,256), Maharashtra (4,45,497), UP (2,65,321) and Gujarat (2,36,543). The money to be recovered is around Rs 554 crore in Assam, Rs 437 crore in Punjab, Rs 358 crore in Maharashtra, Rs 340 crore in Tamil Nadu, Rs 258 crore in UP and Rs 220 crore in Gujarat.

Incidentally, around Rs 41 crore is to be recovered from 41,445 ineligible persons in Haryana, Rs 16.4 crore from 15,503 persons in HP and Rs 3,28,000 from 30 persons in Chandigarh. Among the large states, the smallest number of ineligible beneficiaries was in West Bengal where Rs 76,000 is to be recovered from 19 persons.

Maximum ‘beneficiaries’ in Assam

• The maximum ineligible farmers who got the benefit were in Assam (8,35,268), followed by Tamil Nadu (7,22,271), Punjab (5,62,256), Maharashtra (4,45,497), UP (2,65,321) and Gujarat (2,36,543)
• The money to be recovered is around Rs554 crore in Assam, Rs437 crore in Punjab, Rs358 crore in Maharashtra, Rs340 crore in Tamil Nadu, Rs258 crore in UP and Rs220 crore in Gujarat.

Chennai: The Defence Corridor in Tamil Nadu could be instrumental in placing India on the global map with a landmark manufacturing deal that is taking shape. A consortium of industries, spearheaded by TVS and Sons, is preparing to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will enable the manufacture of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). When this fructifies, India will join the group of elite nations, and emerge as the fifth country in the world that can produce indigenous AWACS.
It is learnt from multiple sources including the Aerospace Industries Development Association of TN, that discussions are on with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) to develop a vendor ecosystem for this investment-heavy proposal. “Talks are still at a preliminary stage but the idea is to create a ‘Made-in-India’ SPV, to strengthen the defence sector,” confirmed an official.
TVS and Sons is taking the lead to set up the SPV unit, multiple sources confirmed to DT Next. “As this is an investment-intensive business, the Chennai-based group has been in talks with stakeholders such as the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and the state government in this regard,” added the official. Entering the defence business will also mark a significant diversification for the logistics player. This new direction would envisage an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore and with the Centre accelerating the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ mission, especially in the defence front, it is being seen as a timely decision. When contacted, R Dinesh, Joint MD of TVS and Sons did not confirm the developments. Former DRDO Chairman S Christopher, whose dream has been to produce an aircraft in TN, is at the forefront of this project. When DT Next reached out to confirm the development, he replied in the affirmative. “My aim is to get the TN Defence Corridor started as fast as possible,” said the IIT-M alumni. Creating an ancillary ecosystem requires a long gestation project, involving huge investments, however, once the infrastructure is set, it can be used to execute smaller projects, making this a pioneering initiative to kick-start the entire defence corridor, he added.
The IAF currently has just three Israeli Phalcon AWACS, with a 400-km range and 360-degree radar coverage, and two indigenous ‘Netra AEW&C aircraft. During Dr Christopher’s stint at the DRDO as Chief Designer and Program Director, he was instrumental in giving the indigenous touch to AWACS, used by IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of Balakot-fame. As per a KPMG report, Data Patterns (a leader in indigenously developed electronic systems in the defence and aerospace domain, Chennai), Mistral Solutions (Bengaluru), Astra Microwave (Hyderabad), TUNGA (Technology Upgradation of Naval, Ground, and Air Systems, an original equipment manufacturer of new-age drone technologies based out of Chennai with its Centre of Excellence in Design Engineering located at IIT Madras research park) and Airworks (Hosur) are the five companies that will be involved in the prestigious project, while TVS and Sons will act as the nodal company driving it.

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) will allocate funding worth INR 714.38 billion (USD9.5 billion) towards “domestic capital procurements” in fiscal year (FY) 2021–22, Ajay Bhatt, India’s Minister of State for Defence, said in parliament on 19 July.
In a parliamentary reply, Bhatt said the figure represents 64% of total defence capital acquisition funding for 2021–22, which he said totalled INR 1.11 trillion. He added that in the past three fiscal years the MoD has signed 102 capital procurement contracts with Indian defence companies.
In another reply, Bhatt said that since FY 2018-19 the MoD had approved 119 defence procurement contracts worth INR 2.15 trillion. He indicated that the majority of these contracts supported domestic manufacturing programs.
Bhatt said that India’s emphasis on boosting local defence production had been bolstered by the issuance of two ‘indigenisation lists’ since August 2020. These lists contain 209 military platforms, items, and related systems that will be progressively sourced from local manufacturers over a four-year period starting this year.
Further import substitution efforts, said Bhatt, have been channelled through the MoD’s ‘Srijan’ web portal, which was launched in August 2020 to identify opportunities for local companies to manufacture products that are currently provided by overseas suppliers.
Bhatt said that since its launch the portal had identified nearly 11,000 imported defence items for local production. He added that local firms had expressed interest in producing about 28% of these items and that Indian state-owned enterprises are currently engaging with the firms to support local production.

Five months after claiming that four of its soldiers were killed in clashes with Indian troops in June last year, China has now revised the toll to five.

Giving fresh details of the Galwan Valley clash, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported Monday that “several soldiers were besieged including regimental commander Qi Fabao”.

The report, which was quoted by Global Times, focussed on “details of how Chinese officers and soldiers sacrificed their lives in the Galwan Valley clash in 2020, including martyr Chen Hongjun”.

It said that 33-year-old Chen Hongjun, a Battalion Commander, sacrificed his life to the “frontline defense confrontation with India in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, along with other four of his comrades-in-arms, who had stationed in the Karakoram Mountains with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang Military Command.”

A Battalion Commander in China is the same rank as the Commanding Officer of a Battalion in the Indian Army.

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Different estimates from China

In February this year, China had admitted for the first time that four PLA soldiers were killed in the clash.

This admission came at a time when India and China were disengaging from the southern and northern banks of Pangong Tso.

However, Indian defence and security sources believed the toll was much higher than what China had officially claimed. This was because during various levels of talks with India, Chinese officials have — unofficially — given contradictory figures for their Galwan clash casualties, as reported by ThePrint.

The figures, shared informally, especially in breaktime conversations during dialogue sessions, varied from five to 14.

ThePrint had also reported that contrary to the perception that the Indian side was outnumbered by the PLA in the Galwan Valley, it was the Chinese that faced the brunt and they had to call in reinforcements, which came at night.

This is something that the fresh reports by the Chinese media have also reported.

Focusing on Chen Hongjun, the report said, “during the battle, when regimental commander Qi Fabao was besieged by Indian troops at the vanguard, Chen Hongjun took two other soldiers and rushed forward against the stones that were being hurled and the blows from sticks wielded by Indian troops. Using his body as a shield, Chen rescued Qi.

As he saw several soldiers were besieged by the Indian troops, Chen Hongjun, once again, turned around without hesitation and led the soldiers to charge again at the battleground”.

India had lost 20 soldiers in the clash.

While some of the deaths were the result of the clashes, a large number of soldiers died of hypothermia after falling into the cold waters of the river.

Also read: No fresh clash between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh, Army says

The project under the strategic partnership model will be the first that allows domestic firms to collaborate with foreign players to produce high-end military platforms in India.

New Delhi: The Defence Ministry on Tuesday issued the request for proposal (RFP) or the formal tender to domestically build six conventional submarines for the Navy at a cost of over Rs 40,000 crore, over a month after the mega acquisition project was cleared.

It will be the first project to be implemented under the strategic partnership (SP) model that allows domestic firms to collaborate with foreign players to produce high-end military platforms in India.

The RFP was issued to the Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the two Indian companies shortlisted following a long-drawn process, according to the defence ministry.

Both L&T and MDL will have to collaborate with one of the five already short-listed foreign shipyards — Daewoo Shipbuilding (South Korea), ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (Germany), Navantia (Spain) and Naval Group (France) and JSC ROE(Russia).

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“Foreign OEMs will enable SP for construction of submarines, achieving high levels of indigenization, and transfer of technology (ToT),” it said in a statement.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) last month approved the issuance of the request for proposal (RFP) for the acquisition programme named Project-75(I).

The ministry said the OEMs would enable the setting up of dedicated manufacturing lines for the submarines in India by providing ToT for submarine design and other technologies and make India the global hub for submarine design and production.

“The project would not only aid in boosting the core submarine, shipbuilding industry but would also greatly enhance manufacturing/industrial sector, especially the MSME by the development of an industrial ecosystem for the manufacture of associated spares, systems and equipment related to submarines,” the ministry said.

In order to achieve these objectives, the RFP has key features like mandatory level of indigenous manufacture of platforms, ToT for design, manufacture and maintenance of submarines and a few critical equipment and systems.

Under the strategic partnership model, domestic defence manufacturers are allowed to join hands with leading foreign defence majors to produce high-end military platforms to reduce import dependence.

The Indian Navy planned to acquire 24 new submarines, including six nuclear attack submarines, to bolster its underwater fighting capability under a 30-year programme that will end in 2030.

It currently has 15 conventional submarines and two nuclear submarines.

The Navy has been focusing on significantly bolstering its overall capabilities in view of China’s growing efforts to increase its military presence in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Indian Ocean, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy, is critical to the country’s strategic interests.

According to global naval analysts, the Chinese navy currently has over 50 submarines and about 350 ships. The total number of ships and submarines is projected to go past 500 in the next 8-10 years.

The Indian Navy is also in the process of procuring 57 carrier-borne fighter jets, 111 Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) and 123 multi-role helicopters under the strategic partnership model.

Also read: What is Project 75 India & what it means for Indian Navy

Riedel has reminded the US that it had made ‘many mistakes’ in Afghanistan by not paying attention after the Soviets left and allowing it to descend into a ‘failed’ state, permitting the Taliban and al-Qaeda to enter that vacuum. Riedel blamed former President George W Bush for taking his ‘eye off the ball’ in Afghanistan after the 2001 US invasion and letting Osama bin Laden escape into Pakistan.

Feared: Power vacuum in Afghanistan after US troop withdrawal will spawn terror. Reuters

Vappala Balachandran

Author and Columnist

On July 17, Bruce Riedel, formerly of the CIA and now at Brookings, warned that the power vacuum in Afghanistan after the US troop withdrawal will adversely affect India by spawning terrorism. Similarly, The New York Times (July 15) reported Chinese fears of insecurity in the region after the killing of nine Chinese workers in a ‘Belt & Road’ hydroelectric project in Dasu, Pakistan’s Northwest, due to a suspected explosion.

Riedel had issued a similar warning on April 27, 2021, by reminding President Joe Biden of what President Barack Obama had said in his memoir A Promised Land: “The Riedel report made one thing clear: Unless Pakistan stopped sheltering the Taliban, our efforts at long-term stability in Afghanistan were bound to fail.”

What was this Riedel report? In February 2009, Obama chose Riedel to chair a White House Review to synthesise suggestions from heavyweights like Richard Holbrooke, special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Gen David H Petraeus, Central Command Chief, and Admiral Michael G Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, before the next NATO summit.

In a joint press conference at the White House on March 27, 2009, Riedel and Holbrooke outlined Obama’s strategy for NATO presence in Afghanistan: “To disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda, and to ensure that their safe havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan cannot threaten the United States anymore.”

They added that the US exit strategy would depend on that.

Biden’s White House address on April 14, 2021, also claimed that they had achieved the “disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda” strategy. However, Riedel did not agree. He said that Joe Biden, who inherited “a terrible deal from Trump’s feckless negotiators” had “failed to engage with Prime Minister Imran Khan”, which was a mistake. This is because Pakistani generals “will be more hubristic and dangerous than ever”, as Pakistan is the winner “again” in Afghanistan, by outlasting two superpowers.

Riedel reminded America that Washington DC had made ‘many mistakes’ in Afghanistan by not paying any attention after the Soviets left, allowing it to descend into a ‘failed’ state, permitting the Taliban and al-Qaeda to enter that vacuum. Riedel blamed former President George W Bush for taking his “eye off the ball” in Afghanistan after the 2001 US invasion and letting Osama bin Laden escape into Pakistan.

In my opinion, a bigger mistake was made in 1992. This was after the failed coup d’état in the Soviet Union in August 1991 and eventual disintegration. In September that year, three Baltic states seceded and declared their independence. A limited ‘Belovezha’ accord signed on December 8, 1991, was modified by the December 21 Alma Ata Protocol in Kazakhstan, creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) by Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Western powers, including the United States, recognised these independent countries.

On March 9, 1992, President Mohammad Najibullah made a direct appeal to the United States through The New York Times to help him in maintaining stability in Afghanistan. This was after President Boris Yeltsin stopped all direct assistance to Afghanistan, which grounded the Afghan air force and encouraged defections, which affected the Afghan army too.

Senior journalist Edward A Gargan reproduced Najibullah’s text of appeal to the US in The New York Times. Najibullah’s tone was premonitory: “If fundamentalism comes to Afghanistan, war will continue for many more years… Afghanistan will turn into a centre of world smuggling for narcotic drugs. Afghanistan will be turned into a centre for terrorism.” However, none in Washington DC listened.

Najibullah also echoed the then Secretary of State James Baker’s statement that Islamic fundamentalism had posed a significant threat to regional stability: “You may think that the Central Asian republics are significant for the United States of America… That’s right. But I must say that the strategic and political significance of Afghanistan is much more than these republics. If Afghanistan is lost and is turned into a center of fundamentalism, you will lose the Central Asian republics.”

During this period, even King Zahir Shah’s US-based representatives had appealed to the State Department and the CIA that the retention of Najibullah in Afghanistan was very necessary as he was the only Afghan leader who would be able to hold the country together, obstruct the jihadis from coming into power and prevent Afghanistan’s splintering. They even conveyed that Najibullah should be accepted by the US, just as it had recognised the CIS leaders, who were mostly authoritarian.

Unfortunately, the rivalry between the State Department and the CIA prevented this from happening.

Steve Coll, in his book The Ghost Wars, vividly records the clashes between the State Department and the CIA over Najibullah. Initially, the State Department’s special envoy to Afghanistan Edmund McWilliams had differed with CIA’s Station Chief Milton Bearden over Najibullah’s fate. The CIA wanted him to go, as desired by Pakistan’s ISI. Milton Bearden started resenting “interference” by the State Department over their turf.

In Washington DC, this rift between the CIA and the State Department was carried higher by the then CIA Deputy Director Thomas Twetten and Peter Tomsen, State Department’s new special envoy to the Afghan Resistance. Robert Kimmitt, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, told The New York Times (January 3, 1991) that Secretary of State Jim Baker had wanted to “coax the rebels and the Najibullah regime into democratic elections”, but that “they (meaning CIA) are just bucking policy.”

However, during that period, Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, member, US House of Representatives’ Appropriations Sub-Committee for Defence, was exercising disproportionate influence over Afghan operations. It resulted in other voices being ignored.

Wilson regretted this later. An article in The World, a public radio and podcast programme, on February 11, 2010, said that Wilson, to the end of his life, regretted that “more wasn’t done to stabilise the country” and “the moderate, pro-Royalist factions in the resistance were ruthlessly suppressed by more extreme Islamic militants on our side.”

These ‘regrets’ of ‘mistakes’ are not going to help the hapless Afghans now who continue to be the victims of external interference.

Lieutenant General DP Pandey hands over Swarnim Vijay Mashaal to war veterans and NCC cadets after paying tribute to the 1971 martyrs, at 15 Corps headquarters, Badami Bagh, Srinagar. PTI

Srinagar, July 16

The Army on Friday said it was encouraging to see an overwhelming response from people in Kashmir to the ‘Swarnim Vijay Mashaal’ — the victory flame to celebrate India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war — as the force paid floral tributes to soldiers who laid down their lives for the country.

Army officers and war veterans, led by General officer Commanding (GoC), 15 Corps, Lieutenant General DP Pandey, paid their tributes in front of the victory flame which was kept at the war memorial at the headquarters of the 15 Corps at Badamibagh Cantonment here.

The victory flame was lit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 16 last year. It reached Badami Bagh Cantonment, the headquarters of the Army’s 15 Corps, on July 12.

Lieutenant General DP Pandey noted it was encouraging to see an overwhelming response from the people in Kashmir to the victory flame as it was carried around several places in the Valley, including in the Srinagar city.

“As a mark of solidarity, roadside events were organised by citizens and local NGOs at Lalded hospital, Iqbal Park, Pratap Park, Jogger’s Park and Rajbagh to pay homage to the victory flame,” he added.— PTI

Gratitude to all

People from all walks of life thronged in thousands to pay their respect to this honourable flame. I indeed want to convey my gratitude to all. DP Pandey, Lieutenant General

The Sarang helicopter display team of the Indian Air Force performed for the first time at the ‘MAKS’ international air show held at Zhukovsky International Airport, Russia.

Tribune News Service

Zhukovsky, July 20

The Sarang helicopter display team of the Indian Air Force performed for the first time at the ‘MAKS’ international air show held at Zhukovsky International Airport, Russia.

The air show is a biennial fixture and this year’s edition started on Tuesday. This is the first occasion when Sarang Team performed its four-helicopter aerobatics display in Russia with ‘Made in India’ ‘Dhruv’.