The Chinese have also upgraded their military infrastructure in a big way as new habitats and villages have been built to support large-scale deployments…reports Asian Lite News
Facing difficulties in maintaining its large number of military bases built along the Line of Actual Control with India, the Chinese military has constructed many solar and hydel power plants to sustain the increased energy requirements of their troops.
The military stand-off between India and China has been going on for more than three years now after the Chinese try to unilaterally change the status quo at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh through large-scale aggression. “After the large-scale deployments in 2020-21, the Chinese have had issues in maintaining troops there. For meeting their energy requirements, solar energy plants along with the Chinese had faced issues in meeting their energy requirements, especially during winters,” sources in security forces told ANI.
The Chinese Army has deployed almost 50,000 troops along the LAC after the 2020 aggression by it and its energy requirements have gone up considerably in the forward areas which experience very low temperatures even in the summers, they said.
The Chinese have also upgraded their military infrastructure in a big way as new habitats and villages have been built to support large-scale deployments.
Sources said that the Chinese have continued to maintain large-scale deployments and are taking steps to support their long-term deployment.
India has also deployed an almost equal number of troops along the Eastern Ladakh sector to counter any possible misadventure by the Chinese in future.
The Army has also reoriented its focus towards the northern borders and deployed new formations along with dual tasking some of them for facing the two-front threat scenario.
‘Matter of perceptional difference’
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has termed the border situation with China as a matter of ‘perceptional difference’ but there are agreements and protocols based on which the armies of both the countries carry out patrolling.
Rajnath, while referring to the stand-off in East Ladakh in 2020, said that the Chinese Army ignored the agreed protocols and unilaterally tried to change the status quo along the LAC.
He lauded the valour and dedication of the Indian Army which prevented the attempts by the PLA to change the status quo.
Rajnath Singh reiterated the government’s stand to resolve the border issue through dialogue and in a peaceful manner. He added that talks are continuing at the military and diplomatic levels to resolve the dispute.
He assured the nation that the government will never compromise on India’s border, its honour and self-respect. “We will never let the sanctity of our borders be violated,” he said.
He touched upon the measures taken by the government to bolster national security, including strengthening border infrastructure and achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence.
He listed a number of steps taken to attain self-reliance, namely notification of positive indigenisation lists and earmarking 75 per cent of the defence capital procurement budget for domestic industry in the Financial Year 2023-24.
“India does not want to depend on imported weapons. Our national security will only strengthen when we become self-reliant in defence manufacturing. Our aim is to ‘Make in India, Make for the world’.
“Our efforts are bearing fruit. Today, we are manufacturing tanks, aircraft carriers, submarines and various kinds of weapons. Defence exports have crossed Rs 16,000 crore from a meagre Rs 900 crore before 2014. The exports will soon touch the Rs 20,000 crore mark,” he said.
Rajnath Singh also enumerated the structural reforms undertaken by the government, including the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff and setting up the Department of Military Affairs.
He added that the government continues to move forward and work is being done to set up theatre commands, which will be another revolutionary reform. (ANI/IANS)