Newsletter 8 February

Sino-Indian Standoff: PLA shore up weaponry at India Border as Xi wants it ‘combat ready’

PLA shore up weaponry at India border as Xi wants it ‘combat ready’

State media reports and local experts interpreted Xi’s recent statement as a message to troops stationed along the tense border with India as well as along the maritime zone along the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
President Xi Jinping has directed the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be “combat ready” during the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays and prepare for information warfare as key to victory over enemy forces.
State media reports and local experts interpreted Xi’s statement, delivered during a visit to the PLA air force unit in southwest China’s Guizhou province, as a message to troops stationed along the tense border with India as well as along the maritime zone along the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
Xi’s statement coincides with several reports in official media on the deployment of new weaponry along the border with India and how China’s top military organization, the Central Military Commission, also headed by Xi, is directing and monitoring the logistics supply for frontline troops.
“During the Spring Festival, the entire army must strengthen combat readiness on duty to guard national security and the happiness and tranquility of the people,” Xi told the aviation unit during his tour.
The CNY or Spring Festival holidays are the most important ones on the Chinese calendar when hundreds of millions travel back home while ministries and Govt departments are either on holiday or work with skeletal staff.
During his inspection at the PLA Air Force aviation division, Xi inspected a special aircraft designed for information warfare.
Xi was quoted as saying by official media that in modern wars, the right to control information has become the key to victory in the war.
Connecting Xi’s message to PLA’s increased weaponry deployment at border areas, at least two official media reports said that PLA border defence troops have recently received “holiday gifts”, including 155mm-caliber vehicle-mounted howitzers, armoured assault vehicles and light tanks.
“Compared with the PLA’s Type 96 and Type 99 tanks, the Type 15 is of lighter weight, boasts better mobility in high altitude regions with low oxygen levels, and is more suitable for plateau combat,” a China Central Television report said.
“The tank will let China deter its neighbors in harder-to-reach places such as the contested border with India,” Kris Osborn, former Pentagon official and defense editor for the National Interest, wrote.
Several recent reports in Chinese official media have also pointed out how border troops stationed at high-altitude plateaus have stocked up on food and daily
necessities – the PLA, it seems, is putting much emphasis on its border troops’ food requirements.
Troops can now grow vegetables at a height of more than 5,000 m, the report said.
Shenxianwan, located in the middle of Karakoram Mountains, is the highest-altitude PLA border post.

India-China talk disengagement, PLA beefs up on Line of Actual Control with more missiles, rockets

According to national security planners, the PLA is undertaking fresh deployment and relocation of both troops and heavy equipment in all the 3 sectors with fresh constructions of revetments in finger area of Pangong Tso.
Although India and China have completed 9 rounds of military talks on disengagement in East Ladakh, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is showing no signs of de-escalation all along the 3488 km LAC with fresh beefing up of 35 heavy military vehicles and four 155 mm PLZ 83 self-propelled howitzers in Tibet.
There is evidence with the South Block to indicate fresh deployment is in sheds around Shiquanhe PLA camp, just 82 km from the LAC across Chumar in East Ladakh.
Additional deployment of vehicles, heavy equipment and new construction work has been observed last month near Rudok surveillance facility, 90 km from the LAC, with 4 new large sheds and partition quarters for troops, which indicates that border of China is shifting in Tibet? Both Rudok and Shiquanhe are in occupied Aksai Chin area.
According to Indian army commanders, there has been a marginal increase, new revetments and relocation of deployments between finger 4 and finger 7 on north banks of Pangong Tso.
It was the Chinese PLA aggression on finger 4 mountainous spur on the north banks of Pangong Tso on May 5, 2020 that led to horizontal escalation of military tensions along the LAC.
While there has induction of 20 military vehicles and equipment observed around Piue radar site, 16 km from the LAC, the PLA is also strengthening positions around Spanggur Tso with induction of more firepower and troops in late Dec 2020.
“The PLA is strengthening all along the 1597 km LAC in Ladakh with a view for long term deployments. The fortifications around Spanggur Tso are designed to support Moldo Garrison in Chushul area with Indian Army dominating heights in Kailash Ranges,” said an official in know of the military deployments.
The PLA has also moved a surface to air missile (SAM) unit near PLA camp in Lhasa, 228 km from Indian border, to protect once seat of 14^th Dalai Lama with some 30 vehicles moving the military equipment under camouflage in second of January 2021.
Fearing an IAF attack in hinterland Tibet, the PLA has deployed SAM units and anti-aircraft guns around all major towns all along the LAC.
While a new military shelter comprising 4-5 barracks has been observed across Lipulekh pass in middle-sector, the presence PHL-03 multi-barrel rocket
- The PHL-03 MBRLs is a Chinese copy of Russian Smerch rocket system with Indian Army.
- Besides, there is increased Chinese human activity at the India-China-Myanmar tri-junction across the Fish Tail area in Arunachal Pradesh.
- While the Indian Army with the help of Borders Road Organization has increased connectivity and capability in all sectors, the Western Theatre Command of PLA continues to mount tension on the LAC.
MoD and BEL sign contract for procurement of Software Defined Radio (Tactical) worth over Rs 1,000 crore
Posted On: 08 FEB 2021 4:01PM by PIB Delhi
Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) have signed a contract for procurement of Software Defined Radio Tactical (SDR-Tac) worth over Rs 1,000 crore in New Delhi on February 08, 2021.
India has transgressed more times than China along the LAC, but the Govt does not announce it, Union Minister of State for State Transport and Highways V. K. Singh said on Sun. Speaking to the media in Madurai, the former Army chief said the border with China has never been demarcated.
Reacting on above, Brahma Chellany, a geopolitical Strategist said “In the absence of a credible Indian military option to evict Chinese forces from the key strategic heights they occupied last April in a stealth operation that caught India napping, such bravado reflects continuing efforts to obfuscate the loss of areas”, launchers at Rubinkha PLA camp just 23 km from India-China-Bhutan tri-junction is a matter of serious concern as PLA is continuing to push in the strategic area.

MoD and BEL sign contract for procurement of Software Defined Radio (Tactical) worth over Rs 1,000 crore

Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) have signed a contract for procurement of Software Defined Radio Tactical (SDR-Tac) worth over Rs 1,000 crore in New Delhi on Mon.
The SDR-Tac, jointly designed and developed by Defense Electronics Applications Laboratory (DEAL) of Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) through a consortium of domestic agencies and industry, comprising Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE), BEL, Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR) and Indian Navy will bring strategic depth to the Armed Forces.
The delivery will take place within 3 years. The BEL is already supplying SDR-Naval Combat (NC) and SDR-Air is under user evaluation trial.
The DRDO and BEL are planning to provide latest SDR with security grading to the Armed Forces.

PM Modi, Statements on Motion of Thanks in RS

Giving his reply to the debate on Motion of Thanks on President Ram Nath Kovind’s address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday touched upon several issues including Covid-19, farmers’ protest and international attention to it.
‘Country needs to be saved from foreign destructive ideology’ (new illustration of FDI): PM Modi in RS
‘Working for small farmers’, says PM Modi in Parliament amid farm stir
‘Modi hai, Mauka lijiye,’ PM concluded speech in Rajya Sabha
“A lot of discussions took place on farmers’ protest. But most of it was concentrated on the protest and not the solution. Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomarji raised some valid questions in the House. But I think those questions will never find answers,” the PM said.
As he was speaking on farmers’ protest, he referred to former PM Manmohan Singh and quoted from the latter’s speech where Singh pitched for enabling farmers to sell their produce.
“Take pride in the fact that Modi has to do what Manmohan Singh had said long ago,” PM Modi said in a lighter vein.

RS passed The Jammu and Kashmir reorganization (Amendment) Bill 2021.

The bill was introduced in the Upper House of the Parliament last week.
Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said the Constitution of India is now fully applicable on JnK, and that the bill will enable availability of officers in JnK who have experience of running union territory administration.
He said around 170 central laws are being implemented in JnK.
He said the bill will increase the strength of officers in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Leh
TMC MP Saugata Roy gives adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over “alleged repression of farmers by Police through barricading and fencing.”

Congress MPs Manish Tewari, Jasbir Gill and CPM MP AM Arif give adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha and demand the repealing of three Farm laws in the wake of farmers’ agitation.The RS on Mon cleared The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that seeks to replace the ordinance to merge the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cadre of civil services officer with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, and Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

Farmers Protests Row

MSP tha, MSP hai aur MSP rahega, assures PM Modi

‘MSP (Minimum Support Price) tha, MSP hai aur MSP rahega’ (MSP was there, MSP is there, MSP will remain in the future) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha on Mon amid the ongoing farmers’ protests against the Centre’s contentious farm laws.

Kisan unions not responding to govt proposals: Goyal

“The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has said the Govt is a phone call away but someone has to call to talk or move ahead.
If farmers have any objection to the laws, then let us know and the Govt is willing to address that,” said Min of Rail, Commerce, Piyush Goyal.
He added that the new farm bills had been introduced to boost income levels and had been welcomed across the country.

Indo-Canadians get ‘threat calls’ for supporting India’s stance-HT

One of the victims claimed to have received nearly 70 threatening calls over the period of one week, after he commented on a Facebook post.
From the Greater Toronto Area to Metro Vancouver and Calgary and across Canada, members of the Indo-Canadian community are being targeted with intimidating calls including threats of sexual violence against family members.
Their crime? Questioning the rationale behind the ongoing farmers’ protests in India and opposing the Khalistani involvement in the movement.
A spokesperson for Peel Police, which is responsible for the region Jay and Mohan reside in, confirmed the complaints have been filed and they will investigate the matter.
The home Min of Maharashtra Govt, Anil Deshmukh said on Mon that he will order a probe into the tweets by celebrities against international pop icon Rihanna over the issue of ongoing agitation in opposition to Centre’s farm laws.

“Parliament of India, after a full debate and discussion, passed reformist legislation relating to the agricultural sector. These reforms give expanded market access and provided greater flexibility to farmers,” the ministry said in a statement.

Centre asks Twitter to remove 1,178 Pak-Khalistani handles for posting provocative content on farmers' protest-ANI

Amid the ‘Toolkit’ controversy surrounding the ongoing farmers’ protest, the Central government has directed the microblogging platform Twitter to remove 1,178 Pakistani-Khalistani accounts spreading misinformation and provocative content on farmer’s agitation, ANI.
According to sources, Twitter is yet to completely comply with orders.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sat had said that there was a reason why MEA reacted to the remarks of some celebrities in relation to protest by

farmer unions and noted that they spoke “on matters on which they obviously didn’t know very much”.
Since, many question raised by opposition and intelligentsia, as why MEA has to respond to nonofficial statement.
The Minister told ANI that ‘toolkit’ case, which is being probed by police, has revealed a lot.
Earlier, the Centre had asked Twitter to remove posts and accounts related to the ‘farmer genocide’ hashtag and threatened to take penal action if it failed to follow the direction.
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had issued a fresh notice to Twitter after the micro-blogging platform reinstated a number of accounts posting about ‘farmer genocide’ despite the Govt’s earlier directive to block them.
Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested Sukhdev Singh, an accused in 26^th Jan Republic Day violence case from Chandigarh. Delhi Police had earlier announced a cash award of Rs 50,000 on his arrest.

Uttarakhand glacier disaster: Multi-agency operation on to rescue those trapped inside tunnel in Tapovan

Update: Recce party hasn’t been able to enter inside the tunnel (250m) due to slush in. The Recce party with camera and sniffer dogs tried to enter the tunnel but after 100m it was not possible to proceed ahead. Machines are now clearing the heavy slush ahead.
As many as 15 people have been rescued so far while 14 bodies have been recovered from different locations following the glacier burst in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, said Chamoli Police on Mon.
Efforts are being made to open the way by reaching inside the tunnel with the help of JCB.
Meanwhile, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on Mon removed the debris and slush at the tunnel near Tapovan dam here in Chamoli district, following the glacier burst which led to heavy flooding in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers.
ITBP, Indian Army, the SDRF and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) forces are engaged in the retrieval in the affected areas.
Tapovan Hydro-Electric Power Dam, also known as Rishi Ganga Project was completely washed off following a glacier burst.
Air Force’s initial report as Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) deployed at Joshimath has undertaken recce of affected areas.
A glacial broke in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand on Sun led to massive flooding in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers and damaged houses and the nearby Rishiganga power project.

We were informed that 178 people were issued passes here. Of which, 15 were rescued yesterday. Rescue operation underway in another tunnel. There’s possibility that 35 people are stranded in it. Priority is

to rescue them as soon as possible: Neeru Garg, DIG Garhwal range
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that a total of 203 people are still missing.
Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, RK Singh on Mon said that the operation is likely to continue throughout out the intervening night between Mon-Tue. Power Minister RK Singh said flash floods has caused an estimated loss of Rs 1,500 crores to NTPC as huge amount of silt has been deposited.

Uttarakhand disaster likely caused by landslide, not glacial outburst, satellite images reveal

Scientists studying satellite imagery from before & after the disaster say a chunk of glacier appears to have crashed down a mountain, triggering a landslide & subsequent floods.
In all likelihood, a steep, hanging portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off at Trishuli, in what is called a ‘rockslope detachment’. This potentially caused nearly 200000 m² of ice to drop 2km vertically, causing a landslide, impacting the valley floor and shattering instantly. This debris, rock, and ice then flowed downslope in the form of an avalanche, identified by the dust trail in the satellite imagery.
DRDO’S Defense Geo-informatics Research Establishment airlifted to the site on Mon.
While some Indian defense scientist, said yesterday that Glacier bursts in winter ‘next to impossible’, and, according to a source in the defense establishment, it could an attempt to hit the key power project—as a blast in the glacier can be triggered from a distance as well (Week).

Cattle smuggling case: CBI files charge sheet against BSF Commandant Satish Kumar, others

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet in the cattle smuggling case that also involved Border Security Force (BSF) Commandant Satish Kumar, before the CBI Court of Asansol.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the CBI, 4 persons, namely, BSF Commandant Satish Kumar, Mohammed Enamul Haque, Mohammed Gulam Mustafa and Anarul Sheikh allegedly indulged in cattle smuggling across the India-Bangladesh border. According to the FIR, Kumar was posted as the Commandant of 36 Battalion, BSF, in Malda form Dec 19, 2015, to Apr 2017.
Two companies under the battalion were posted each in Murshidabad and Malda.
During this period, over 20,000 cows were seized by the BSF and auctioned within 24 hours of the seizure.
The CBI is probing the alleged nexus between the officials and the syndicate that may have helped run the operations.

NEIGHBORHOOD/ WORLD

Week after military coup, protests swell rapidly in Myanmar

Tension in the confrontations between the authorities and demonstrators against last week’s coup in Myanmar boiled over Mon, as police fired a water cannon at peaceful protesters in the capital Naypyitaw.
On Sun, in the town of Myawaddy on Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand, police shot into the air in an evident effort to disperse a rowdy crowd.
There had been no initial reports of injuries, but the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent watchdog group, said one woman had been shot, without providing further details.
There have been no signs that either protesters or the military was backing down in their confrontation over who is the country’s legitimate Govt.
Nonviolent protests demanding the release of the detained Suu Kyi and restoration of her Govt have spread all over the country, with awareness of them growing after the authorities on Sun lifted a brief ban on internet access.
State media appears to have ignored the protests, but videos and reports on the demonstrations were being posted by social media users.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Myanmar, an independent watchdog group, says 165 people, mostly politicians, had been detained since the Feb. 1 coup, with just 13 released.
One foreigner has been confirmed held by the authorities, Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia’s Macquarie University who was an adviser to Suu Kyi’s Govt on Sat under unclear circumstances.
A statement issued Mon by the office of Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said he was being provided with consular support and described him as “a highly regarded advisor, member of the academic community.”

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Mon said that the ongoing border disputes with India will be resolved through diplomatic talks.