Group Captain Murli Menon (Retd)

Defence Analyst

In many ways, the ongoing standoff with the Chinese across the LAC reminds us of our bitter experiences of 1962. But there is no excuse to be surprised a second time by a recalcitrant adversary. The manner in which the Galwan debacle played out is uncannily similar to what the Chinese did to the Russians on the Manchurian Ussuri river in March 1969, including the targeting of the commanding officer.

That the Chinese should choose to indulge in such adventurism in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and their own alleged role in creating it is surprising enough. And their ongoing aggressive forays in the South China Sea, Hongkong and Taiwan cannot be entirely coincidental. Clearly, there is a grand plan in the offing. A supposedly over keen Chinese Communist Party leader or a threatened President Xi Jinping attempting to counter internal ruffles within his establishment can only be other contributory factors.

But what India’s response needs to be is what should agitate all strategist minds now. Very clearly, the rules of engagement along the LAC need redefining. It is ridiculous to think of modern militaries fighting with stones and nailed batons. The basic principle in warfare is to pitch your strength against the enemy’s weakness.

In the Galwan valley, the terrain goes up to 15,000 ft AMSL (above mean sea level), with Leh and Thoise airfields being at around 11,000-10,000 ft AMSL and Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) at 16,614 feet. It is thus going to be a different kind of warfare altogether, something we ought to have equipped and trained for.

Now that both foreign ministers are talking of de-escalation, whilst we go along with any suitable proposals from the Chinese, we have to ratchet up our military’s tactical posturing in the area. That would mean the Army deploying troops to occupy advantageous high points and the IAF buttressing its air defence and offensive air support capabilities out of Leh, Thoise and DBO airfields.

A big blunder in 1962 was not resorting to our superior air power, which we had then in terms of our Hunters and Canberras. The equation has changed drastically no doubt, but India has to be prepared for a series of high-

altitude operations against the Chinese all across the LAC.

Meanwhile, infrastructure on the ground along the frontage of the LAC has to be expeditiously built up to enhance our logistic wherewithal in the difficult terrain. Though the Chinese may enjoy superiority in numbers, as far as the armies are concerned, we have to capitalise on our profound high-altitude air operations skills, honed since Siachen and Kargil, to smartly employ our air power to advantage against the Chinese.

As and when the likes of S-400 and THAD (terminal high altitude area defence) materialise, they have to be integrated into the air defence of the Leh area. Aircraft of the Mirage and SU30 class with their standoff and PGM (precision-guided munition) capabilities could be effectively employed to provide the force multiplier effect to our ground troops.

Also, our assets such as the new Apache/Chinook helicopters and the C-17/Hercules transporters would find valuable usage in this terrain. Trainer aircraft such as the Hawks and Pilatus would be good platforms to exploit too. The IAF already has high-altitude air ranges located at places such as Kartso, Kargil and Toshi Maidan, which need to be utilised for realistic operational training for weapon delivery and other aerial tactics. Our air power capabilities need to be deployed, albeit in a graded escalatory manner, to bring on unbearable pressure on the enemy.

Should suitable large targets, such as the formation HQ of the PLA or PLAAF, be available, the use of ground- or air-launched Brahmos missiles could also be considered.

One of the classic outcomes of the ‘Himalayan blunder’ was our government’s failure to declassify the Henderson Brooks report into the 1962 war. Had we done that in a timely fashion, many of the challenges of high-altitude warfare would have been addressed by now. But it is better late than never and capabilities have to be put in place forthwith.

Mountain warfare is not only critical for the Indian Army, but also for our air and sea elements. Some sea operations on the Pangong Tso lake could also be envisaged. Air defences need to cater to the Chinese SSM (surfeace-to-surface missile) threat too. High-altitude air warfare has its peculiarities owing to weapon delivery difficulties, aspects such as landslides and avalanches that could be intentionally triggered by air power and challenges in combat search and rescue.

Limitations in line-of-sight considerations for radar sensors and communications, terrain masking and its advantages are some other aspects to be considered. Passive air defence aspects, such as the availability of hardened shelters at Leh, DBO and Thoise, would also need to be addressed. Of course, any action along the LAC could have the possibility of Pakistan opening up a front in the West.

Battle staff management is another important aspect, where our experience in orchestrating the air war from Awantipur during Op Safed Sagar would come in handy. All in all, air power sensibly employed could turn the tide in favour of the initiator. Adaptation to base air defence, such as tactical usage of terrain to deploy mobile observer units, could compensate for ground radar limitations in the mountainous terrain. Recourse to shoulder fireds as opposed to impractical and unwieldy SAGWs (surface-to-air guided weapons) may need to be taken.

Clearly, all air capability for an air campaign in the mountains off Ladakh does not obtain as of now. So, the IAF will have to have a building-block approach to orchestrating any such campaign. But should we be able to pull it off, results in terms of overall campaign objectives would be out of proportion and in our favour.

It behoves the government to give a free reign to the three military chiefs to marshal a befitting tactical response to our land-grabbing neighbour.

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 17

Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh (39) had joined duty merely two weeks ago after a month-long leave during the lockdown. The soldier was among those killed during a clash with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

Resident of Seel village in the Ghanaur block of Patiala, Mandeep Singh was the only breadwinner in the family. His father had died several years ago. He is survived by his mother Shakuntala, wife Gurdeep Kaur, and two children, namely Mehakpreet Kaur (15) and Jobanpreet Singh (12). Villagers said he had been in the village for nearly a month before leaving for duty.

His cousin Manjeet Singh said Mandeep was liked by all. “He joined the Army in 1997. He used to visit home regularly and was affable.” One of his cousins, Nirmal Singh, had retired from the Army already.

The family was inconsolable after they received the news of his death. Administrative officials said his body was expected to reach Patiala in a day or two.

Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 17

A pall of gloom descended on Birewala Dogra village in the Budhlada tehsil of Mansa district after the news of death of Sepoy Gurtej Singh (23) reached here. The sepoy was killed during a clash with the Chinese army in Ladakh on Monday night.

Gurtej is survived by his father Virsa Singh, mother Parkash Kaur and two elder brothers. Friends and relatives rushed to the martyr’s house and consoled the bereaved family. Mansa SSP Narinder Bhargav visited the family members. The body is expected to reach here on Thursday.

Virsa Singh said Gurtej’s elder brother got married some days back and he had spoken to Gurtej 20 days ago. In his last phone call, he had told them he would come back soon to meet his sister-in-law. Virsa Singh said Gurtej always wanted to serve the nation and had joined the Army two years ago. He said they were proud that their son laid down his life fighting for the nation.

Gurtej also told them that he was going on the border due to tension on the LAC and he won’t be able to contact them after that.

Tribune News Service

Patiala/Gurdaspur, June 18

The body of Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh, who was killed during a face-off with Chinese troops at Galwan valley in Ladakh, was cremated with honours this evening. His family members, villagers and district officials bid adieu to the martyr at Seel village in Ghanaur block.

Despite the Covid-related restrictions, hundreds of people gathered at the village cremation ground to pay tributes to the soldier.

Residents recounted that many men from the village had served the armed forces. Ramandeep Kaur, wife of a former Army man, said she came from the family of soldiers. “My father served in the Army and so did my brother. Now my husband has retired from the service. My only son too wants to serve the nation. There are many such families in the village.”

Captain Narinder Singh, who served with Mandeep Singh for over 18 years, said Mandeep was courageous, honest and loyal. “He had all the qualities of an ideal soldier and we are proud of him. He belongs to a village that has sent many youths to the armed forces,” he said, adding that the compensation given to the family should be at least Rs 50 lakh.

Various political leaders, including Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Ghanaur MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur and Sanaur MLA Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra, also paid their respects. At Bhojpur village in Gurdaspur, the mortal remains of Army man Satnam Singh (41) were consigned to flames.

The martyr’s body was airlifted from Leh to Chandigarh this morning. Later, a military chopper transported it till Tibri cantonment from where it was brought to the cremation ground in a cavalcade of Army vehicles.

The district administration ensured that the gathering was limited to 50. The pyre was lit by martyr’s son Parbhjot Singh. Contingents from the Army and the Punjab Police reversed their arms and fired shots in the air as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who attended the cremation as a representative of the state, assured the deceased’s kin that besides a job to one family member, the government would soon release the ex gratia grant.

“The district administration has been instructed to construct a memorial gate on one of the roads leading to the village,” he said.

Gathering limited in Gurdaspur

• At Bhojpur village in Gurdaspur, the mortal remains of Army man Satnam Singh (41) were consigned to flames
• The martyr’s body was airlifted from Leh to Chandigarh on Thursday morning
• The district administration ensured that the gathering was limited to 50. The pyre was lit by martyr’s son Parbhjot Singh

Admiring his courage

Mandeep was courageous, honest and loyal. He had all the qualities of an ideal soldier and we are proud of him. He belongs to a village that has sent many youths to the armed forces.— Capt Narinder Singh, Ex-serviceman

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 18

The Indian Air Force on Thursday airlifted the mortal remains of 20 soldiers, who died in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley this week, from Leh.

The bodies were brought to Chandigarh in a service aircraft and from here they will be further airlifted by different IAF aircraft to airports nearest to the fallen troops’ respective villages.

The aircraft reached Chandigarh in the afternoon. Full-service honours were accorded to the soldiers and wreaths were laid on their coffins.

Five of the fallen soldiers were from the region, with four being from Punjab and one from Himachal Pradesh. Their bodies are being sent from Chandigarh to their native place by road, and are expected to reach there by evening.

They include Nb Sub Satnam Singh of Gurdaspur, Nb Sub Mandeep Singh of Patiala, Sep Gurbinder Singh of Sangrur, Sep Gurtej Singh of Mansa and Sep Ankush Thakur of Hamirpur.

IAF aircraft would further ferry the bodies to Hyderabad, Patna, Ranchi, Bhubneshwar, Bagdogra, Panagarh and Raipur and from there the last leg of the journey to their home would be by road.

Of the 20 soldiers killed in the face-off, which include a colonel commanding an infantry battalion, 13 were from the Bihar Regiment, three from the Punjab Regiment, three from the artillery and one from another unit.