Watch a Military Literature Festival-2020 discussion on self-reliance in defence preparedness.
The panellists are Rahul Bedi, Harpal Singh, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Brig Suresh, M V Kotwal, Vishnu Som
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Watch a Military Literature Festival-2020 discussion on self-reliance in defence preparedness.
The panellists are Rahul Bedi, Harpal Singh, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Brig Suresh, M V Kotwal, Vishnu Som
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 20
A narration of personal experiences of four officers, who took part in the historic and one-of-its-kind crossing of the Meghna river during the 1971 war with Pakistan, was the highlight of the concluding day of the 4th military literature festival on Sunday.
The annual event conducted in Chandigarh is being held ‘virtually’ this year due to the COVID-19 protocols.
Each officer narrated how the crossing across the Meghna river (Dec 9- Dec 15, 1971) was done while the Indian Army approached to encircle Dhaka (then known as Dacca) from the eastern flank.
Interspersed with some thrilling anecdotes of the war and also the conduct of the 4 Corps Commander Lt Gen Sagat Singh, the session was moderated by Squadron leader Rana TS Chinna, who is part of the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research (CAFHR), under the USI.
Dhaka was then the capital of East Pakistan, the river Meghna was crossed by troops using helicopters while tanks forded across the strong currents leading to a hasty fall of the Pakistan Army.
Lt Gen SS Mehta who led first tank troop — using PT 76 tanks — into Dhaka termed this as victory of democracy over military rule and a victory of humanism over barbarism.
“The game changer was the helicopter-lift for crossing of troops and tanks by fording across the Meghna,” he later told the Tribune. The river has strong currents and is as wide as 15 km.
“The war was about liberation over occupation. Pakistan had occupied it (Bangladesh) and we have liberated them. We did not stay beyond 90 days,” said General Mehta, who was commanding the 5th Independent squadron of his regiment, the 63 Cavalry.
The General, then a Major, did the task of making his squadron tanks cross the river using them in an amphibious role.
The proof is that Bangladesh is a faster growing economy. “We captured Dhaka with just 3000 troops and 30,000 Pakistan Army surrendered”.
He recollected how his tank squadron was parked in the grounds of the Dhaka University and at its edge stood a 16th century Nanak Shahi Gurdwara which was damaged by Pakistan Army and its ‘granthi’ was killed.
The gurdwara was refurbished and troops got in a new granthi too. The first speech of new leaders of Bangladesh in their officiating capacity was made from the gurdwara.
Lt GS Sihota was air operations pilot tasked with Gen Sagat Singh the 4 Corps Commander described how the operation was planned and how the general himself visited each spot to select the best possible location to cross the Meghna after several air reconnaissance sorties.
“Sagat Singh could not accept defeat,” he said.
Group Captain CS Sandhu, who was commanding the 110 Helicopter unit of the IAF, was tasked with ferry troops across the Meghna said the unit had 10 Mi-4 helicopters supplied by then USSR.
“In June 1971, I was told that I would be operating with the 4 Crops and asked to go and see General Sagat Singh, who then advised me to train for night flying.”
With just a navigation light, a small cockpit light and with no radio transmission permitted, the task was to coordinate the flying speed of the copters with accuracy to prevent any mid-air crashes. The training was done post-monsoons in 1971.
From December 9 to December 15, IAF helicopters lifted 6,000 men from the east bank of the Meghna and dropped them at the west bank of the river for the onward march to Dhaka, he said.
Maj Chandrakant Singh, who was in the infantry, described the battle of Akhaura as the toughest battle of the eastern sector. Akhaura is further east of Meghna and close to Tripura, India.
By December 6, the troops were moving towards the river line of Meghna.
“The planning to heli-drop troops was conveyed over night and it helped us push Pakistan further westwards towards Dhaka. Sagat Singh was clear in his mind that he would use helicopters in an offensive role”.
The moderator Squadron Leader Chhina, said these individuals on the panel shaped the destiny of three countries and the operation across the Meghna was a daring plan which led to the fall of Dhaka
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 20
In response to media queries on allegations by Pakistan regarding Indian forces targeting a UN vehicle across the LoC, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the allegations by Pakistan regarding an incident on December 18 was investigated in detail and found to be factually incorrect and false.
“Our forward troops were aware of the visit of UN Military Observers in the area and did not conduct any firing as alleged,” said Srivastava.
Instead of repeating baseless and fabricated allegations against India to cover up its own failure in ensuring the safety and security of UN personnel in territory under its control, Pakistan should responsibly investigate its lapses. India has conveyed its findings and views on these misrepresentations to the Pakistani side, he added.
Pension Payment Order (PPO) is an important document as far as Pensioners are concerned which determines the Pension to be fixed at the time of retirement. Until October 2017, process of issuing PPO was done manually by PCDA.
PCDA has started issuing electronic-Pension Payment Orders (e-PPOs) for all defence pensioners including defence civilians. The shift from manual system to e-PPO system is expected to minimize delays in pension disbursement and further revision as and when needed. This initiative also eliminates the occurrence of human errors in data entry at multiple levels.
Retired Officers Digital Records Archive (RODRA)
MP 5&6, AGs Branch, Army HQ is responsible for maintaining records of serving and veteran officers of Indian Army.
All Veteran Officers of the Indian Army (less AMC, ADC, MNS & TA), Spouses of such officers in receipt of family pension & Dependents other than spouse in receipt of family pension should register themselves at the RODRA site, https://rodra.gov.in/.
Procedure for Registering (Sign up):
1. You will need to have the following data therefore keep a copy of your original PPO before your enter your particulars in RODRA web page:-
(a) Service No without suffix (e.g. IC27563).
(b) Date of Birth in dd/mm/yyyy format (e.g. 20/03/1948).
(c) Date of Commission in dd/mm/yyyy format (e.g. 13/01/1972). For technical graduates your first date of training in IMA/ OTA is the date of your short service commission. Do NOT enter your actual date of passing out. You were granted Short Service Commission on the first day of training hence that is your date of commission. You can see this in your original PPO also. For all other entries, you see your PPO for date of commission.
(d) Date of Retirement in dd/mm/yyyy format(e.g. 31/03/2004).
(e) Mobile No (10 digits only).
(f) E-mail id.
2. Decide on a password. It should have a minimum of eight (8) characters, where at least one capital letter, one special character (e.g. @, $,&) and one numeral (0 to 9). Note this down for future use. There is a facility to change the password at a later date. If by chance you ever forget your password, there is a provision for you to reset it. For example Narendra@72 is an example. Keep your password as simple and short as possible.
3. Entering Data. Click on Sign Up. Enter all the particulars as mentioned above. Enter Catchpa exactly as is shown. Click on Submit.
4. OTP. MP 5/6 collected some data with the PPOs they have. Therefore, your data must match with theirs. Then only your data will be accepted. Once your data matches with data held by MP 5/6, you will be informed that OTP will be sent to your mobile no and e-mail id. Once you see OTP in your mobile, enter it for verification.
5. After this is done, then you will shown your user name i.e. IC number and you will be asked to enter a password. Enter your password. Click on “Submit” button. You will be informed that you have been successfully registered.
6. Open the website https://rodra.gov.in/.
7. Click on the “Login/Sign up” tab or Click on “New Users Sign up Here”.
8. Enter your user name (IC Number without suffix) and password. Type the Catchpa exactly as is shown. Click on Submit.
9. You will be taken to first page where in some details of yours held by MP 5/6 like your service no, rank, name in full etc are shown.
10. To get your e-PPO, click on “Downloads”. If your PPO has been issued by PCDA (Pension), it will be available for download in pdf format.
The following link shows the various steps for registering oneself on the RODRA website.
https://rodra.gov.in/rodra_
Sirs, hope you all have got Veterans I Cards issued. It is a ATM card sized I Card with your two photos- one in Uniform of last rank and one in civil dress. You apply to Stn HQ. Details given above
HOW TO REGISTER AT RODRA AND GET YOUR 7 CPC – E-PPO
Pension Payment Order (PPO) is an important document as far as Pensioners are concerned which determines the Pension to be fixed at the time of retirement. Until October 2017, process of issuing PPO was done manually by PCDA.
PCDA has started issuing electronic-Pension Payment Orders (e-PPOs) for all defence pensioners including defence civilians. The shift from manual system to e-PPO system is expected to minimize delays in pension disbursement and further revision as and when needed. This initiative also eliminates the occurrence of human errors in data entry at multiple levels.
Retired Officers Digital Records Archive (RODRA)
MP 5&6, AGs Branch, Army HQ is responsible for maintaining records of serving and veteran officers of Indian Army.
All Veteran Officers of the Indian Army (less AMC, ADC, MNS & TA), Spouses of such officers in receipt of family pension & Dependents other than spouse in receipt of family pension should register themselves at the RODRA site, https://rodra.gov.in/.
Procedure for Registering (Sign up):
1. You will need to have the following data therefore keep a copy of your original PPO before your enter your particulars in RODRA web page:-
(a) Service No without suffix (e.g. IC27563).
(b) Date of Birth in dd/mm/yyyy format (e.g. 20/03/1948).
(c) Date of Commission in dd/mm/yyyy format (e.g. 13/01/1972). For technical graduates your first date of training in IMA/ OTA is the date of your short service commission. Do NOT enter your actual date of passing out. You were granted Short Service Commission on the first day of training hence that is your date of commission. You can see this in your original PPO also. For all other entries, you see your PPO for date of commission.
(d) Date of Retirement in dd/mm/yyyy format(e.g. 31/03/2004).
(e) Mobile No (10 digits only).
(f) E-mail id.
2. Decide on a password. It should have a minimum of eight (8) characters, where at least one capital letter, one special character (e.g. @, $,&) and one numeral (0 to 9). Note this down for future use. There is a facility to change the password at a later date. If by chance you ever forget your password, there is a provision for you to reset it. For example Narendra@72 is an example. Keep your password as simple and short as possible.
3. Entering Data. Click on Sign Up. Enter all the particulars as mentioned above. Enter Catchpa exactly as is shown. Click on Submit.
4. OTP. MP 5/6 collected some data with the PPOs they have. Therefore, your data must match with theirs. Then only your data will be accepted. Once your data matches with data held by MP 5/6, you will be informed that OTP will be sent to your mobile no and e-mail id. Once you see OTP in your mobile, enter it for verification.
5. After this is done, then you will shown your user name i.e. IC number and you will be asked to enter a password. Enter your password. Click on “Submit” button. You will be informed that you have been successfully registered.
6. Open the website https://rodra.gov.in/.
7. Click on the “Login/Sign up” tab or Click on “New Users Sign up Here”.
8. Enter your user name (IC Number without suffix) and password. Type the Catchpa exactly as is shown. Click on Submit.
9. You will be taken to first page where in some details of yours held by MP 5/6 like your service no, rank, name in full etc are shown.
10. To get your e-PPO, click on “Downloads”. If your PPO has been issued by PCDA (Pension), it will be available for download in pdf format.
The following link shows the various steps for registering oneself on the RODRA website.
https://rodra.gov.in/rodra_
Sirs, hope you all have got Veterans I Cards issued. It is a ATM card sized I Card with your two photos- one in Uniform of last rank and one in civil dress. You apply to Stn HQ. Details given above
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 19
India’s little known victory over China in 1967, which had a significant impact in the future course of events South Asia on Saturday, took the centre stage with a discussion on a recently published book, ‘Watershed 1967—India’s forgotten Victory Over China’ by Probal Dasgupta at the ongoing Military Literature Festival here.
The author spoke about the purpose of writing the book during the Doklam stand-off in 2017, when he realised that much of the ongoing discourse in India’s public domain was fixated around India’s 1962 debacle against China.
He said that It struck him as odd that India’s victory of 1967 over its arch rival had been buried and forgotten. Speaking about the China-Pakistan nexus in 1965, which forms the beginning of the book, he also discussed the involvement of the US Central Intelligence Agency and a think tank in Arlington, Virginia, which knew of a Sino-Pakistani plan to capture Kashmir alongside with making inroads into Sikkim that would to force India in to a defensive negotiating position resulting in taking Kashmir in exchange for Sikkim, then a protectorate state.
Former GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen KJ Singh, who had earlier commanded the Corps at Sikkim where the battles of 1967 had taken place, spoke of the nuances around these battles and the area.
Elucidating how the Chumbi valley presented a similar vulnerability to the Chinese like the narrow Siliguri corridor posed to India, he spole about Lt Gen Sagat Singh’s leadership and his leadership, including placement of artillery guns, ensured that a difficult situation could be salvaged and turned into India’s favour quickly. The artillery used at Nathu La changed the course of the battle.
He also raised senior leadership’s perplexing decision in 1965 to withdraw from Jelep La, which gave Chinese the psychological edge, even though India now occupies the heights around the pass and stressed the need for a deeper analysis of that decision. He added that decision making at the senior level needs to be bolder to turn critical, decisive moments in a battle to our advantage.
Lt Gen JS Cheema spoke about the happenings in the aftermath of 1967, wherein various geopolitical events rather than the battles of 1967, ensured that China didn’t interfere with India’s campaign in Bangladesh. He said that the victories of 1967 had swung the psychological advantage in India’s favour and also felt that the book rightly brought out the parallels between India’s actions in 1967 and similar boldness during the Sumdoring Chu standoff with China in 1987. He added that such alacrity and confidence were also witnessed during the 2017 Doklam stand-off.
Hyderabad, December 19
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India’s handling of the border row with China showed the country was not weak and could give a befitting reply to any kind of transgression, aggression or unilateral acts.
With the two countries having held several rounds of talks to resolve the issue, Singh said India wanted peaceful resolution of disputes but asserted no harm to its self- respect would be tolerated.
In his address at the combined graduation parade at Dundigul Air Force station here, the Defence Minister said China’s “attitude reflected that country’s intentions” during these Covid times.
“But we have shown that India is not weak. This is new India that will give a befitting reply to any kind of transgression, aggression or any unilateral acts,” he said.
India had found the support of many countries, even as it had received accolades, he added.
Pointing out that rounds of talks had been held at the diplomatic and military levels to solve the issue, the Defence Minister said, “Let me reiterate, we don’t want conflict but peace.”
“But we will not tolerate any harm to the country’s self-respect,” the minister asserted.
The country was prepared to face any situation, he added.
Referring to the western sector, Singh said Pakistan was indulging in skirmishes on the borders and charged the neighbour with indulging in a “proxy war” using terrorism, despite being defeated by India in four wars.
The armed forces and police were effectively dealing with terrorism, he said.
The country was not only handling terrorism effectively within the country but even taking action beyond the borders, he said, referring to the air strikes at terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan.his demonstrated to the world India’s military strength and the country’s firm intentions against terrorism, he added. PTI
Balaosre: Maintaining that the ATAGS howitzer is the best gun in the world with the capability to strike targets at the longest range of 48 kilometers, a top DRDO scientist said, the indigenous gun can meet Indian Army’s full requirement of 1800 artillery guns systems and there was no need for imports in this field.
Interacting with ANI during the field trials of the ATAGS which has already fired over 2,000 rounds in places like Sikkim near the China border and Pokharan near the Pakistan border, ATAGS project director and senior Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Shailendra V Gade said the gun system is far better than the legendary Bofors in the Indian Army along with any other artillery gun in the world including the ATHOS gun offered by Israel.
The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) has been developed by the DRDO and produced by two firms Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems Limited.
“The Indian Army’s requirement is for 1580 towed artillery guns and apart from that, they need 150 ATAGS and another 114 Dhanush guns. So, there is a requirement of a total of 1,800 guns. The way the ATAGS is performing and come up, I am sure that this entire requirement of 1,800 guns can be met by this gun only,” Gade told ANI. Explaining the edge which the Indian Army would get to vet adversaries like China in a war scenario, Gade said the DRDO-developed gun is the longest firing howitzer in the world with 48 km and this will help it to be safe during a strike against the enemy.
“The enemy won’t be able to counter you as they would not be able to reach you but you can reach them at 48 kilometers. You can be eight kilometers behind their strike range but still hit them,” he said.
Asked if the ATAGS was better than the guns available with China and Pakistan, Gade said, “in fact, this is the best gun in the world because no other country has been able to such a system built on this high-technology with a high rate of firing capability.”
The Indian Army is looking at the acquisition of around 1600 artillery guns and was looking at Israeli guns ATHOS as an option for quick induction of 400 pieces.On being asked to compare the ATAGS with the ATHOS and French Nexter guns, Gade said, “If you look at the qualitative requirements of the ATHOS and Nexter guns, the requirements of the ATAGS are very stringent. So, definitely, the guns systems are not very contemporary. If we look at the future as 2027-2030, the ATAGS is the answer for those times for the Indian Army.”
On being asked whether there was a need for India to import any howitzer from abroad in view of the presence of howitzer, Gade said, “not at all. I feel India as a country, we have developed the core competence and technology is there to meet the country’s requirements for world-class guns.”
also read: India working on next ‘Astra’ missile with 160 km range as Mk1 is integrated in IAF & Navy
Worrisome: The police are trained to enforce law impartially but that rarely happens. PTI
As 2020 nears its end, old policemen like me must take stock of the progress of the politicisation of the police since it should worry every citizen. First and foremost are citizens prepared to use the word ‘progress’ to trace the pace of politicisation of such a vital instrument of governance as the police? Every citizen must know that such politicisation is a negation of the ‘Rule of Law’, of good governance.
Let us take the Delhi Police. They were in the news when students of the JNU and later, the Jamia Millia, took to demonstrations and some violence to protest against wrongs, real or imagined. The Delhi Police were extremely tolerant of the antics of the right-wing Hindutva students and very hard on the left-wing unions. That is not how a police force should approach law and order situations. But the level of politicisation of a constitutionally-appointed body has gone up more than a notch or two! That does not augur well for the impartiality that is expected of the police. Public respect for the police increases in proportion to its impartiality.
The police moved swiftly against the leftist students and rightly so. The president of the left students’ union was seen on camera welcoming hooded men who entered the campus and beat up the rightists. The police then allowed the rightists to enter the campus by slipping through police cordons and allowed them to create mayhem without intervening to stop the hoodlums. It is not expected of the police to take sides, but take sides they did!
Any unbiased independent observer would conclude that the orders had come from the top echelons. In India, the police chiefs of different states and the police commissioners of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, report to the ministers in charge of the Home Department of those states. In Delhi, the commissioner reports to the Lieutenant Governor, who in turn reports to the Union Home Minister. The power of appointments and transfers rests with the respective Home Ministries. The misuse of these powers is the genesis of the politicisation of the police forces throughout the land. This politicisation is now embedded in the system.
The ambition of the senior IPS officers to occupy posts of importance is a major contributory factor to the politicisation. The appointment of subordinate police officers is in the hands of their seniors. When the seniors surrender their authority by complying with requests from politicians, corruption increases and the investigation of crime in sensitive cases are based not on facts and law but on the wishes and interests of the politician in power.
Proof of the politicisation of the Delhi Police was available when they refrained from prosecuting the BJP leaders who spewed venom on the anti-CAA protesters. Their threats came alive during the communal riots in northeast Delhi in February 2020, but the Delhi Police took no cognisance of the real cause of the riots! Instead, it concentrated on the young students, most of them women, who participated in the anti-CAA demonstrations!
The Delhi Police were well regarded nationally as a professionally competent force. They did a marvellous job of the investigation into the Nirbhaya rape and murder case. Their present chief was also well-spoken of as a competent officer. The Delhi Police have fallen victim to politicisation. They seem to be impotent when dealing with the political leadership. The long-term consequences of this runaway decline will be felt in future years.
The politicisation process has been more marked in Delhi’s neighbouring state of UP. The Adityanath government started off by summarily executing a number of criminals, mostly small-time, to the great delight of the middle-class. But the atmosphere of criminality continued to flourish, leading to the ambush and massacre of a police party, especially deputed to arrest a notorious gangster who had continued his depredations despite the fear generated by the police assuming the role of judge and executioner. Finally, the UP police were compelled to deal with the gangster through the very methods they used to despatch the small fry!
Presently, the UP police are busy rounding up Muslim bridegrooms who dare to tie the knot with Hindu girls, an event that is intensely distasteful to the Hindu Right. This, in spite of the views of the Allahabad High Court and assorted High Courts outside UP. The police top brass are too timid to advise the Chief Minister, a man averse to such marriages, that falling in love is a normal manifestation of human longing and desire.
In Maharashtra, my home state, where I was born, lived, worked, the bad blood between the BJP and the Shiv Sena after their divorce, has spawned a comedy that soon descended into a tragedy. A budding actor had committed suicide. He was a Rajput from Bihar. A foolish calculation that a love affair gone awry could influence the course of elections to be held shortly in Bihar prompted the government at the Centre to send in its shock troops, the ED, the CBI, the NCB, to embarrass the Sena chief and his young unmarried minister son. The plan boomeranged when no charge could hold! A young, struggling actress, a live-in partner of the dead actor when he was alive, was sacrificed as a pawn with the help of an obliging TV anchor.
The Sena leaders, in retaliation, got the local police to resurrect an old suicide case where the deceased had named the same TV anchor as responsible for his (the deceased’s) decision to take his own life! Political one-upmanship led the police on a path it should have feared to tread. But tread it did because of the politicisation which we are discussing.
Instances of harm caused by the politicisation were apparent in the police handling of the Delhi riots of 1984 and the Gujarat riots of 2002. The investigations into the 2020 Delhi riots are headed in the same direction!
The police are trained to enforce the law impartially but that rarely happens. Politicisation of the police in India has crossed all boundaries. If not checked, it will spell doom for good governance and the country’s prestige in the world.
An elderly farmer rests on a tractor-trailer at Singhu. Mukesh Aggarwal
Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, December 19
Amid the ongoing farmers’ stir against the three farm laws, the Income Tax Department has reportedly conducted raids on the premises of several arhtiyas (commission agents) in Punjab over the last 48 hours.
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh castigated the Centre for allegedly adopting intimidatory tactics against arhtiyas. Terming the raids as a pressure tactic to curb arhtiyas’ democratic rights and freedom, he said such oppressive actions would backfire against the BJP.
Arhtiyas claimed the premises of their five union leaders were raided in Patiala, Nawanshahr and Ferozepur districts. In Patiala district, raids were conducted at Bhunerheri, Samana and Rajpura.
Premises belonging to Punjab Arhtiyas Association president Vijay Kalra, Samana Mandi unit chief Pawan Kumar Goyal, Patiala unit chief Jaswinder Singh Rana, Nawanshahr unit chief Manjinder Singh Walia, Rajpura unit chief Hardeep Singh Ladda and Rajpura arhtiyas Kartar Singh and Amrik Singh were raided by Income Tax Department officials. Fourteen arhtiyas have received income tax notices across the state so far. The arhtiyas have announced to shut grain markets across the state for an indefinite period.
Ravinder Singh Cheema, president of the Arhtiyas Association, Punjab, said the raids were aimed at silencing arhtiyas’ voice against farm laws and to create fear.
“The Centre is targeting arhtiyas who support protesting farmers. However, we will continue our support the farmers,” he said.
Jaswinder Singh Rana, Patiala district president of the association, said he got an Income Tax notice a few days ago. He had already appeared before taxmen in Patiala and agreed to submit the required documents on the next date of a hearing, he said. “Income tax officials, accompanied by CRPF personnel, raided my house on Thursday night. The search continued till Friday night,” he added.
Association’s vice-president Harjeet Singh said, “The raids were conducted against those who supported farmers financially.”
Dr Darshan Pal, state president of the Krantikari Kisan Union, said they would gherao income tax offices across the state, if the raids on arhtiyas did not stop.
Can be a way out in a day or two: Khattar
There can be a way out for the next round of talks between the government and farmers’ unions in a day or two, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar said after meeting Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday. “In a day or two, there can be a way out for talks. The government is ready for talks,” he said. TNS
BJP ally backs stir
Rajasthan’s Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal on Saturday resigned from three parliamentary committees in support of the farmers’ stir. Beniwal, convener, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and BJP’s ally, submitted his resignation to LS Speaker Om Birla. PTI
Stir apolitical: Farmer group writes to modi
The All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee on Saturday wrote to the PM and Agri Minister Tomar asserting their protests were not affiliated with any political party. PTI
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Xi Jinping. Reuters file photo
Beijing, December 19
Chinese President Xi Jinping has appointed a new General as the Commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Western Theatre Command which oversees the Sino-Indian border, amidst the military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
President Xi, who heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high-command of the two million-strong People’s Liberation Army (PLA), appointed Gen. Zhang Xudong as the Commander of the Western Theatre Command, according to the official media here.
Xi has promoted four senior Chinese military and armed police officers. Among them was Gen. Zhang, Commander of the Western Theatre Command of the PLA, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.
The other officers who were promoted include Guo Puxiao, Political Commissar of the Logistic Support Department of the CMC; Li Wei, Political Commissar of the PLA Strategic Support Force and Wang Chunning, Commander.
The new appointments at the top of the PLA Western Command come in the midst of the standoff between the Chinese and Indian military in eastern Ladakh since May.
Not much is known about Gen. Zhang, especially his association with Western Theatre Command, as he reportedly served mostly in other theatre commands of the PLA.
He succeeds 65-year-old Gen. Zhao Zongqi who headed the Western Theatre Command during the 2017 Doklam standoff where the Indian Army stood up against the PLA’s plan of laying a road close to the Indian border in an area claimed by Bhutan.
The Ladakh standoff also happened under the watch of Gen Zhao. It began in May after China dispatched thousands of troops which were mobilised for military exercises to eastern Ladakh borders, sparking a new round of tensions with India.
India and China have held several rounds of talks at the diplomatic and military-level to resolve the prolonged standoff.
At the latest round of foreign ministry-level talks on December 18, the two sides said that they have agreed to continue work towards ensuring complete disengagement of troops in all friction points along the LAC. The meeting also decided to hold the next round of military dialogue at an early date. — PTI
