[This was published on 13 0ctober 2014 in
Burma Time. It is, in fact, an extension of the article under the same title
published in Dhaka Courier on 11 September 2014]
Political landscapes in Asia are getting
clouded and vulnerable because of, inter alia, borders disputes leading to
claims and counter-claims over the territories concerned by the competing
states. Such geo-political scenario is now more acute between China and India
in particular centering the Aurunachal Pradesh in the northeastern zone in India.
Strategic and security experts both in China and India are on in a full swing
to dig and discover or invent further avenues entailing as well deserving persons
to face the challenges therein. Both sides look to be aware of the crude
reality that ‘Chair makes a man is indeed an attention-grabbing saying and, without
a reservation, added mesmerizing is when a chair gets illuminated, and starts
sparkling and radiating because of the very holder of the chair’. In Indian perspective,
so far seven heavy weights held the office of the Minister of the Ministry of
Development of North Eastern Region (MDONER), starting from 2001 to present 2014,
in India. In fact, MDONER was accorded the status of a full-fledged ministry in
May 2004. But the appointment of state Minister for External Affairs General (Dr.) Vijay Kumar (VK) Singh,
PVSM, AVSM, YSM,
former chief of army of India, to the federal Ministry of Development of North
Eastern Region (MDONER) is rather special having its own glamour, significance
and radiation predominantly for the reasons as follows:
*He has vast knowledge and experience,
strategic and/or military, about the north eastern zone since he was also the Commander
of the Eastern Command of Indian army; The Eastern Command has a dual role to
play. On one hand, it is in charge of defences along the Line of Actual Control
(LAC) with China in states like Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh while on the
other; it is involved in Counter-Insurgency operations in the North East. It is
viewed as the only Command in the country perpetually engaged in armed conflict
since Independence.
*He is the first from the armed forces chosen
as state minister for foreign affairs concurrently with the portfolio of the
Minister of MDONER. A good judgment of wrapping and blending between political
landscapes and military landscapes is likely to develop in the context of time,
space and dimension;
*While in army he held strong belief in
formulating and implementing ‘Proactive defense strategy’—a kind of polish
interpretation of cold start doctrine
unveiled in 2004—primarily against Pakistan extending to China in course of
time, if possible. Cold Start is
a military doctrine developed by the Indian Armed Forces for use in a possible
war with Pakistan. It involves the various branches of India's military
conducting offensive operations as part of unified battle groups The Cold Start
doctrine is intended to allow India's conventional forces to perform holding
attacks in order to prevent a nuclear retaliation from Pakistan in case of a
conflict. It is also leveled as Two-Front War Doctrine since
this will be the mainstay of India's New War Doctrine, based on the reality
that India should expect and be prepared to effectively meet simultaneous
threats from China on the Northern borders and Pakistan on the Western borders.
This
doctrine is one step forward to Sundarji
doctrine (after the name of. General
Krishnaswamy Sundarji who was India's Chief of Army staff from 1986 to
1988). The Sundarji Doctrine was made up of seven defensive "holding
corps" of the Indian Army and deployed near the Pakistani border.
Possessing limited offensive power, the holding corps' primary responsibility
was to check a Pakistani advance. India's offensive potency was derived from
the "strike corps," which was made up of a mechanized infantry and
extensive artillery support. Unlike the holding corps that was deployed close
to the border, the strike corps was based in central India, a significant
distance from the international border. In a war, after the holding corps
halted a Pakistani attack, the strike corps would counterattack, penetrating
deep into Pakistani territory to destroy the Pakistan Army's own strike corps
through 'deep sledgehammer blows' in a high-intensity battle of attrition. In
January 2011, while talking to the media in the run-up to Army Day, Army chief
General V K Singh came closer than any other government official, while
spelling out the widely speculated Indian war doctrine popularly referred to as
Cold Start. "There is nothing like Cold Start. But we have a 'proactive
strategy' which takes steps in a proactive manner so that we can achieve what
our doctrines and strategies," he said. From these reality and
understanding it is clear that as former chief of army, his strategic and
military vision and mission are more forward-looking and comprehensive and such
stocks may be added source and resource
both for the defence policy and foreign policy of India;
* He seems to be recalcitrant,
argumentative and hardnosed on his own stand under the circumstances, approving
or not. Even in the face of so many controversies that clouded him from time to
time, he has, interestingly enough, earned a profile of being widely recognized
and respected for his honesty, commitment, and integrity and towering
personality. He raised the head and voice against corruption and mal-administration
and never allowed hesitation or suffocation to initiate herculean drives for
clean administration even giving birth to critics and back-biters within and
without his domain of jurisdiction. He is, perhaps, continuing on the same wave.
His hatred for sycophancy, cronyism and philistinism plus adherence to the
policy ‘India should focus on innovation, not outsourcing’ made him more reliable
and dependable for a free and fair India;
*Recalling few words as follows--what VK
Singh is--- from his stock can hardly go without being seen in this context:
I don't
want to be,A wealthy man,
Nor I want to be,
A working man.
I want to be,
A great soldier,
Fighting on the front,
with a gun on my shoulder,
I want to die for,
My great, beloved nation,
And for my enemy,
I shall have no compassion,
I
want to let the
Chinese know
That Indians can die,
For their Motherland.
Chinese know
That Indians can die,
For their Motherland.
Gen
VK Singh as
a Std. VIII Student (http://generalvksingh.info/home/anti-corruption/gen-vk-singh-is-a-hero)
Here attention needs to be paid and
concentrated in full to the verity that VK Singh, from the very understanding
of life and reality, became aware exceedingly of the mindset of Chinese leaders
about border disputes leading to conflicts or war with India in the end. He
should better be placed in the rank of those who cherish and nurse ‘India doctrine’,
Monroe doctrine in Indian perspective, to turn India gradually into a global
power. His well-written book ‘Courage and Conviction: An Autobiography’ bears testimonies of such spirit and
persistence.
*He is a statesman from the standpoints of exercises of art of administration from various positions in army including that of the chief of army of India, but he is yet to be a politician after the definitions and exercises of politics being allied to a political party. His appointment unfolds Modi-led BJP administration’s veiled vision and mission to deal with the matters related to security in particular in the north eastern zone. Further observation is that he has golden opportunity to play role of diverse natures as state minister for external affairs being very close to Prime Minister Modi given that external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is not within the hemisphere of Modi’s entire confidence because of her having been allied with Advani in BJP politics who is at present almost a dead horse in the politics of BJP.
Any self-respecting civilian government or military force or civil society ought to be celebrating Gen VK Singh for being a true warrior and taking on the Enemy Within. The problems that he highlights are our collective problems. Those problems have turned us into a banana republic far more than anything Gen Singh has done in severing the cozy, comfortable, clubby relationship between the military and the civilian administration(Gen VK Singh is a hero for fighting the Enemy Within’ in http://generalvksingh.info/home/anti-corruption/gen-vk-singh-is-a-hero)
*Operationally speaking, the Ministry of
Development of North Eastern Region (MDONER) is a Government of
India ministry, established in September 2001, which functions as the nodal
Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic
development of the eight States of Northeast India, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. It acts as a
facilitator between the Central Ministries/ Departments and the State
Governments of the North Eastern Region including Sikkim in the economic
development including removal of infrastructural bottlenecks, provision of
basic minimum services, creating an environment for private investment and to
remove impediments to lasting peace and security in the North Eastern Region
including, Sikkim.
Moreover, ‘Vision 2020 document’ for the Development of North Eastern Region
(MDONER) prepared in July, 2008 has laid down goals, identified challenges and
suggested implementation strategies for comprehensive development in various
sectors to ensure peace and prosperity of the region. It provides roadmap to
all stakeholders such as line Ministries of Union Government, Planning
Commission, North Eastern Council and State Governments for formulation of
integrated plan for development of North Eastern Region.
*Not a single word has been incorporated in
the charter of MDONER about the security in the zone vis-à-vis threats from
China or Myanmar; although for its vision 2020 secure and peaceful environment
is a condition precedent. Indian states bordering China are Jammu and Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh Of them states in the northeast bordering
China are Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Aurunachal Pradesh is the largest
among all the North- East States considering its vast area comprising of 83743
Sq. K.Ms. The State is having a long international border with Bhutan in the
West covering 160 K.Ms, China in the north and north-east covering 1030 K.Ms
and Myanmar in the east covering 440 K.Ms. the neighboring states of Assam in
the south and Nagaland in the east and south east are in the border. Shiliguri
Corridor at the connecting point of West Bengal and Aurunachal Pradesh is the
only link between the mainland of India and the states in the northeastern
states. Sikkim is bordered by Nepal to the west, China's Tibet
Autonomous Region to the north and east, and Bhutan to the east and Indian
state of West Bengal lies to the south. Hence, Sikkim has to be connected with
the rest of the northeast through West Bengal. Alongside other considerations,
militarily and strategically these borders are very important for India as a
whole;
*Neither Nepal nor Bhutan (mostly
India-dominated states) seems to be a threat to India. There is also no
perceptible threat from Myanmar, the tested bordering ally of China. Nevertheless,
one may feel free to excitedly reach at a sweeping conclusion that India’s
further phobia comes from Myanmar in the sense that China has closer ties with
Myanmar and India has logic of phobia that in case of a war with Myanmar, China
shall stand by Myanmar. Myanmar shares 1000-mile-long border with four
Northeast Indian states: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur
without any considerable disputes leading to conflict. Myanmar serves as
gateway to the other 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations.
It is
China that’s the concern and from this standpoint India’s policy here mainly
originates and revolves just about China. This happened in 1962 and the
recently released vertical map of China, an update of its national map, shows
that Aurunachal Pradesh as a part of China. India and China have held 17 rounds
of border talks since the early 1990s without making significant progress. Therefore,
tension and phobia both have started running and escalating once more.
Mobilization and deployment of armed forces probably in line with vision and
mission of ‘Cold Star Doctrine, which in the words of VK Singh ‘Proactive
defence strategy’, along the borders are on noticeably.
China has sufficient opportunities to play
taking, what's more, strategic note of ‘Chumbi Valley’ located in Tibet at the
intersection of India (Sikkim), Bhutan and China (Tibet) in the Himalayas. Two
main passes between India and China open up here: the Nathu La Pass and Jelep
La Pass. Administratively, the valley is in Yadong County of the Tibetan
Autonomous Region. India’s concern runs very high because in November 2007,
Chinese forces intruded into Bhutanese territory and dismantled several unmanned
posts near the Chumbi valley, distorting the Sino-Bhutanese border near Sikkim.
The move had alarmed New Delhi because it brought the Chinese forces within a
few kilometres of the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken’s Neck, which connects the
rest of India with the Northeast and Nepal with Bhutan. Here careful study
needs to be made to the China-Bhutan border talks where there is a package
offer to Bhutan from China.
The
center of Indian trepidation in the enduring Bhutan-China boundary talks is its
assessment that “China settles all boundary disputes on its own terms”. And
Thimpu doesn’t have the leverage to assert itself against a big power. Beijing
wants to expand its footprint on Chumbi valley, extending its claims on western
border. Any concession from Bhutan on that will have impact on the Siliguri
corridor, India’s gateway to north east. The disputed territory between Bhutan
and China also borders both Sikkim and Arunanchal Pradesh. Any compromise on
these areas will be very problematic for India, even as indications of Bhutan
giving concessions on these areas to settle the dispute in the central part
have come in. That’s why keeping in mind the upcoming 22nd round of talks on
border disputes between China and Bhutan, Premier Narendra Modi made his first
trip, from 15-16 June 2014, to Bhutan since he took over. He reconfirmed,
intensified and cemented India’s interests in full as the current ruling party
(PDP) in Bhutan is loyal and grateful to India for many a reason together with
India’s support to it during the general elections to the parliament in 2013.
From all such viewpoints, the north east region is very important militarily,
strategically and politically in bi-lateral, regional and international perspectives.
President
of the People’s Republic of China and Secretary General of CPC Xi Jinping,
during his recent visit to India from 17-19 September 2014 played a kind of
silent diplomacy in this regard, although going back to China he met the
topmost generals of PLA and made a very significant vow telling them that ‘We
have to win in any regional war’ diagonally, inter alia, fingering at India. India and China,
which fought a war in the Himalayas in 1962, share a 2,200-mile border, much of
which is disputed. Officials say a big part of the problem is that the Line of
Actual Control that separates the two nations hasn't been defined, so each side
has its own perception of the border. Whether
there shall be any war or major border conflict between India and China n near
future that’s not visible or predictable at the present, however, the truth is
that a sense of phobia is hunting the both sides, proportionately or not. India
shall have to be on alert under all the circumstances, negative or positive,
and wise decision is to emphasize on both the person(s) and strengths as a
whole.
Therefore, apart from the go-ahead leadership
for pushing forward vision 2020 in the north-eastern states, Prime Minister
Naredra Modi’s picking of VK Singh as state minister for external affairs with
a further portfolio of Union Minister (Independent charge) of the Development
of North Eastern Region (MDONER) carries weight and importance to the highest
order. Keen observers, strategic and/or political, hold in a firm mood and mode
without a shade of doubt that VK Singh is a silver lining as new skipper for
the most part in the light of insurgencies within and India’s border disputes
leading to possible conflict with China in the zone. Let us wait and see what
actually takes place in the end.
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