Hindustan Times, Guwahati
Rahul Karmakar
August 17, 2015
No shot has been fired along the Indo-China border since the 1962 war. But frequent incursions by Chinese troops — despite a border cooperation pact in October 2013 — have kept Indian forces on their toes.
India has 3,00,000 troops — comprising four Army Corps, 53 battalions of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and the military-like Ladakh, Arunachal and Sikkim Scouts — to counter a Chinese threat. Half of them are deployed within 100 km of the indistinct Line of Actual Control (LAC) separating India and China-controlled Tibet.
The 3,488 km LAC, at an average of 13,800 ft, runs from the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh. More than the terrain and sub-zero temperatures, poor infrastructure and accessibility hinder proper policing along this border. On the other hand, it is easier for Chinese troops.
The comparison was summed up by BJP MP Tarun Vijay after he returned from Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathula in Sikkim: “Vehicles crawl at 20-25 kmph on the Indian side of the border. The Chinese can move at 120-140 kmph on their side.”
