New Delhi: China has a strong economic and strategic need in the Ladakh sector, which is why it is aggressively building its army to dominate the unfenced locations on the Indian side to lay claim on more areas, according to an official paper circulated at a high-level meeting.
The paper, prepared by Indian Police Service officers and submitted at the DGPs/IGPs meet held last week, said the country’s border defense strategy should be given a new meaning and purpose with an economic incentive for the future, given India’s limitation to be a part of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) or the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
The paper suggests the strategy needs to be area-specific e.g. border tourism can be promoted aggressively in the Turtuk or Siachen sector, and Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) or Depsang plains,
On the the Karakoram pass in the DBO, the paper said it is an ancient connection to India’s silk route history, and opening the area to domestic tourists shall counter the remoteness of the idea.
It suggested that expeditions on the pass which were famous since the 1930s can be restarted and trekking and hiking areas be opened in a limited manner.
China has a strong economic and strategic need in the eastern border sector and they are aggressively building up their army to dominate the unfenced areas marked by the patrolling points (PPs) on the Indian side to lay their claim on the area for further domination, the paper noted.
Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the three-day annual conference was attended also by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and about 350 top police officers of the country.
An officer posted in Ladakh noted in the paper that during an interaction a senior security personnel, whose unit is based right on the forward area, told him it’s worth it if India can buy peace with China’s PLA for four years by retreating 400 metres.