The Red Dragon Comes Calling

A new headache has arisen for the Indian army. The Chinese may have diplomatically remained neutral during the Kargil crisis, but on the ground, its forces continue to needle the Indian side. In the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh, where the main battle took place between the two countries in '62, Indian army authorities are not taking any chances. For the past two months, field commanders under the Tezpur-based 4 Corps are involved in sand-model war games. The idea, as a senior officer put it, is to be in a state of constant alertness. The exercise was long overdue, top officers say. They point out that bulk of the troops under the 5 Mountain Division based in Tenga, 21 Division based in Rangiya and 2 Mountain Division based in Dinjan, have been involved in counter-insurgency operations in Assam since '91.

In the Sikkim sector, too, there has been Chinese activity. Army sources in Gangtok told Outlook that in one such incident in end-March, a small force of Chinese soldiers intruded 3 to 4 km inside Indian territory across the border in north Sikkim. Terrified villagers around Lachen, a small town in Sikkim across the Tibetan plateau, fled the area after the Chinese came in and took over some unused bunkers. Although the Chinese left the place in a couple of days, the intrusion sent alarm bells ringing at the 17 Mountain Division, entrusted with guarding the Sikkim border with China.

Immediate reinforcements were sent to the area and patrolling intensified, but the Chinese had made their point. As a field commander said: The Chinese use these thrust-and-withdraw tactics very effectively. They come in, create a sense of panic and pull back as suddenly as they came in. Although the Sikkim sector has been quiet for the last 35 years, the Indian army does not take any chances here. A full mountain brigade, headquartered in Gangtok, is looking after this border. The vigil has been stepped up following George Fernandes' outburst last year, dubbing China as India's enemy No. 1.

In the wake of the Kargil crisis, field commanders under 4 Corps thought it prudent to reorient the troops for their primary task: guarding the border against the Chinese. As a result of this new thinking, several staff officers, brigade commanders leading brigades meant for deployment along the Chinese border and their immediate superiors, the general officers commanding the divisions, have been involved intense brainstorming sessions. Several battalions involved purely in counter-insurgency operations are being rotated and relocated in the Arunachal mountains to keep them in a state of readiness for any eventuality.