Presence of Chinese soldiers on LAC force Army chief to cancel three-day Bhutan visit

New Delhi: In a move that shows how seriously the Army is taking the stand-off with China at Chumar in Ladakh, Army chief Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag has cancelled his three-day proposed visit to Bhutan that was to have started on Monday due to the situation prevailing at Ladakh. “The Army chief decided he must be in Delhi at this crucial juncture,” sources said.

The Indian and Chinese soldiers are camped in tents at Chumar in Ladakh, where the temperatures at night have already dipped to sub-zero levels.
According to reports, Chinese helicopters have been dropping food packets for the Chinese PLA soldiers at Chumar, although none of them violated Indian air space. The food packets were later collected by the PLA personnel.

Tension in the area had erupted when some Chinese workers, who were constructing a road on their side, crossed into the Indian side and also claimed that they had orders to build a road up to Tible, 5 km inside Indian territory.

The Army and paramilitary ITBP have already mobilised hundreds of troops on the ground and the Indian side will not pull back till the Chinese do, sources said.

ITBP Director-General Subhas Goswami also met home minister Rajnath Singh and minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju and briefed them on the situation.

The stand-off, that began on September 10, has already lasted 12 days. It has brought back memories of a similar three-week stand-off at the Daulat Beg Oldie sector in Ladakh in April-May last year and has one again put the spotlight on the Army’s recommendation that the paramilitary ITBP should be brought under its operational control.

The Modi Government is determined to send a strong message to China that Indian troops will not back down in the wake of the stand-off in Ladakh, sources said, adding that “there is no change” in the situation as yet.

Indian troops on the ground number more than the Chinese troops. There had been a limited withdrawal of Chinese soldiers earlier when Chinese President Xi Jinping was visiting New Delhi but some of the Chinese troops had returned to the Indian territory soon after.

The stand-off may result in further acceleration of the process to provide badly-needed modern weaponry and equipment to the armed forces such as the acquisition of ultra-light howitzers that can be deployed in the mountainous areas bordering China.

Tackling the critical shortage of submarines in the Navy in another of the top priorities of the government in the backdrop of attempts by China to increase its footprints in the Indian Ocean and strengthen ties with India's maritime neighbours such as the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The government may consider taking submarines on lease from Russia.