BackArmy chief briefs cabinet on Chinese incursion
Three flag meetings between the two sides failed to break the deadlock
Premium(Hindustan Times)
New Delhi: Army chief General Bikram Singh on Wednesday suggested various options to the Government on resolving the Chinese incursion issue including using the force aggressively.
An Indian Army team headed by a Brigadier crossed over to the Chinese side of Chushul to hold the annual Border Personnel Meeting on the International Labour Day.
In his briefing to the Cabinet Committee on Security, the Army chief listed out various options before the Government including using the military aggressively to resolve the issue, sources said in New Delhi.
The Army has given various options to Government’s China Study Group which is handling the incursion issue with all the stakeholders and one of the options being mulled by the force is to cut the supply line of the Chinese troops stationed in the Indian territory, they said.
The Chinese troops, who have pitched tents 19 km inside Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldi area, are getting supplies from a place called Chip Chap in China, which is 25 km from the face-off site, and a Border Defence Regiment is deployed.
Sources said patrols can be sent from rear and they can reach behind the Chinese camp undetected to interfere in the Chinese supply line, which is being maintained by them using high-mobility trucks and light vehicles.
India has also rejected the Chinese proposal to increase the gap between the tents of the two countries saying this would take off the pressure from the Chinese troops.
The two sides are at a distance of 90 metres at the face-off site with around 30 troops present in the Chinese camp.
India is also planning to deploy additional troops in the area if it feels that the Chinese are enhancing their presence there.
In his briefing to the Cabinet, the Army chief is also learnt to have said that the force was maintaining high vigil and all precautions are being taken to ensure that such incidents are not allowed to take place in other locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
On the border personnel meeting, Army sources said the exercise was ceremonial in nature and the issue did not come up for discussion during the three-and-a-half hour meeting between the two sides.
Three flag meetings between the two sides have failed to break the deadlock as the Chinese have been demanding dismantling of infrastructure created by the Indian side in Eastern Ladakh including the Daulat Beg Oldi area.
The last meeting was held on Tuesday at Spangur Gap near Chushul between Colonel-level officers from the two sides, the sources said.
In the meeting, India also made its stand clear that there should be an unconditional withdrawal of Chinese troops from the Indian territory as per the agreements signed between the two sides on earlier occasions.
Two earlier meetings on the issue had failed to yield any outcome and the Chinese soldiers have even started to increase their presence in the area by erecting new tents and continue to get supplies by trucks from their unit 25 km from the face-off point.
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