Chinese incursions seen as 'pinpricks'

NEW DELHI: The recent incursions by China’s People’s Liberation Army into Indian territory are not being viewed with too much concern by security agencies, which see them as ‘pinpricks’ by China to assert its presence in areas such as Arunachal Pradesh and not a precursor to any military confrontation. 

Also, even as Chinese transgressions beyond LAC are nothing new, their higher frequency of late is possibly an outcome of the facilitated troop movement on the other side due to the strong infrastructure, particularly the excellent road network, that has come up in the Chinese border areas. 

This assessment was shared by the Central security establishment with state police chiefs on the concluding day of DGP/IGPs meet here on Thursday. The police heads were told that the higher frequency of Chinese transgressions into the Indian side were not surprising as better road and other linkages on their side meant stronger presence and easier movement for Chinese troops. 

Though senior security officials, in their briefing to DGPs conference, sought an alert on the Sino-Indian border, they did clarify that the agencies were not seeing transgressions blowing up into a military confrontation. The assessment stems from the fact that China aims to overtake the US as a global leader by 2050 and would not like to be slowed down by a war-like situation. The incursions, the security bosses explained, were also to establish China’s dominance in South Asia. 

Interestingly, though MEA is keen on playing down the transgressions as routine, a section of the security establishment is getting restless over such a response as it strongly feels that ignoring frequent incursions into its territory would only embolden the neighbour to get more aggressive. 

Though a meeting of the China study group was to be held on Thursday to discuss the recent Chinese misadventures on the border, it was called off at the eleventh hour to beat the media hype generated by the rising incursions by PLA troops. The meeting will now be held at a later date, hopefully away from the media glare. 

For now, the dominant view in the government is to focus its energies on strengthening the infrastructure on our side of the Sino-Indian border. This will not only fortify our defences but also help us establish our claim over the disputed border areas developed by us, a senior Union government official told ET. 

The police chiefs were also briefed by the R&AW experts on the continuing threat from Pakistan-based terrorists outfits, particularly the Lashkar e Toiba (LeT). A presentation explained how terror outfits such as Al-Qaeda, LeT and Jaish e Mohammed, etc, were working in tandem and making use of each other’s network to carry forward their subversive agenda. India, the security agencies warned, was particularly vulnerable as LeT has built a huge network with local Indian elements, including organisations like Simi and Indian Mujahideen, to spread its tentacles far and wide. 

The police chiefs were warned that banned outfits like Simi and even IM were reinventing themselves by taking on different nomenclatures. Some of the ex-Simi cadres were now part of the newly-founded political formations. The states were told to keep an eye on all such re-invented fundamentalist groups that may be linked with LeT or other terrorist groups. Particular attention must be given to prevent communal tension to linger in sensitive areas as it may serve as a breeding ground for prospective LeT sympathisers, the DGPs were told. 

The Centre, according to sources, is particularly concerned about the LeT strengthening their local linkages in Maharashtra and Gujarat, given the more frequent communal outbreaks there, and has asked the DGPs to ensure that a major communal situation was averted.(ET)