China crisis: CCS summons Army chief, chooses more diplomacy
2 May 2013 7:32 AM IST
It met at the Prime Minister’s residential office Wednesday and summoned the Indian Army chief, General Bikram Singh, on the Chinese incursion by the nation’s People’s Armed Police Force – the border guards. At the end, diplomacy appeared to be the continued desire of the country’s governing leadership to tackle the problem.
Intense speculation continued through the day that the Chief had provided the CCS members a series of military options to evict the PAPF from their dug-in position in Depsang valley on the west of Raki Nullah. By the evening those reports were all denied.
Gen Singh was called, as the official word stated, to make a presentation on the current situation in the northern fringe areas where this face-to-face stand-off was going on. The CCS also took the opportunity to know his professional views on the current situation.
All these were necessitated by the failure of the ‘flag meeting’ – third in a row – to arrive at a resolution of the problem.
Unsuccess of the crucial ‘flag meeting’ – reportedly sought to be convened by both sides – was ostensibly rooted in the unsuccessful diplomatic initiative taken by both countries through the Joint Mechanism on the Boundary Issue, being undertaken all this while by the joint secretary (East Asia) in the ministry of external affairs (MEA), and the director general in-charge of South Asia in the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA).
The fact that the government here has decided to continue in the same diplomatic path is being viewed as its earlier inability to handle the situation at a level away from the gaze of the media. Some senior defence officials feel that the decision to summon the Chinese Ambassador so early into the present crisis on 18 April caused a lot of heart-burn in Beijing.
Meanwhile, there is also a feeling amongst sections of the defence officials that the time for ‘coercive diplomacy’ on the part of India may be over, limiting its choices in stepping on to an ‘escalation ladder’ to test the nerves of the Chinese antagonists amongst its leadership.
Intense speculation continued through the day that the Chief had provided the CCS members a series of military options to evict the PAPF from their dug-in position in Depsang valley on the west of Raki Nullah. By the evening those reports were all denied.
Gen Singh was called, as the official word stated, to make a presentation on the current situation in the northern fringe areas where this face-to-face stand-off was going on. The CCS also took the opportunity to know his professional views on the current situation.
All these were necessitated by the failure of the ‘flag meeting’ – third in a row – to arrive at a resolution of the problem.
Unsuccess of the crucial ‘flag meeting’ – reportedly sought to be convened by both sides – was ostensibly rooted in the unsuccessful diplomatic initiative taken by both countries through the Joint Mechanism on the Boundary Issue, being undertaken all this while by the joint secretary (East Asia) in the ministry of external affairs (MEA), and the director general in-charge of South Asia in the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA).
The fact that the government here has decided to continue in the same diplomatic path is being viewed as its earlier inability to handle the situation at a level away from the gaze of the media. Some senior defence officials feel that the decision to summon the Chinese Ambassador so early into the present crisis on 18 April caused a lot of heart-burn in Beijing.
Meanwhile, there is also a feeling amongst sections of the defence officials that the time for ‘coercive diplomacy’ on the part of India may be over, limiting its choices in stepping on to an ‘escalation ladder’ to test the nerves of the Chinese antagonists amongst its leadership.
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