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Outcome of the military commanders meeting depend on PLA’s posture LAC and deployment in Aksai China.
With India’s China Study Group (CSG) meeting on Friday, the stage has been set for a meeting of military commanders of the two countries in the coming week, to discuss disengagement and subsequent withdrawal of PLA troops from Ladakh.
The outcome of the military commanders’ meeting will largely depend on PLA’s posture along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and its deployment in occupied Aksai China.
Consider the following :
1. The PLA continues to build-up troops in occupied Aksai Chin and has started rotating troops on the LAC, indicating that it is preparing for a long haul on the border.
2. A disengagement and de-escalation have been discussed and agreed to at the levels of Special Representatives (July 5) and Foreign Ministers (September 10), but the PLA has made the restoration of status quo ante on LAC conditional, thus putting the entire exercise at jeopardy. Rather than withdraw in toto to base camps, the PLA wants to have a toehold on the territory on the north bank of Pangong Tso to show its stamp of authority.
During discussions, the PLA has talked about withdrawing to the pre-April position of Finger 8 spur on the lake but wants to leave 50 troops at the present position, eight-kilometre up at finger 4. At certain places, it wants to place cameras to monitor Indian movements. Basically, it wants to earmark the territory for future negotiations. This has been rejected by the Indian side.
4. There is a serious element of distrust about China’s intent. The Indian army is convinced the PLA wants to stay-put on the encroached territory — a sort of reward for initiating aggression against India on the LAC in May. This is unacceptable to the Narendra Modi government.
5. With the weather taking turn for the worse, both armies will go into survival mode this winter rather than initiating operations against each other. The wind chill is a killer in these areas with temperatures touching 25 below zero routinely at Pangong Tso and Chushul. High altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPO) and acute mountain sickness will turn killers this winter — not bullets.
6. The Pakistan move to create a fifth province in disputed Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in the occupied northern areas is being pushed by the Chinese through the Pakistan Army as Beijing wants security for the CPEC corridor, which it also wants to expand. This means that the Line of Control (LOC) between India and Pakistan will become the border, with GB being assimilated into the Islamic state.
The main reason behind the GB move is to expand the CPEC corridor as China wants to create an alternative to the Malacca Straits sea-route by pushing hydrocarbon and mineral supplies from West Asia, Africa and Afghanistan through the new route. With India blocking all Pakistani proposals at the World Bank for infrastructure development in Occupied Kashmir and Northern Areas on the ground of the areas being disputed, usurping the Shia dominated GB by Sunni Pakistan will help in the expansion of CPEC, and also protect the already sunk Chinese investment in CPEC.
7. The expansion of CPEC will also help China in controlling the restive populations of Buddhist Tibet and Muslim Xinjiang as the economic growth will feed into the militarization of both the autonomous regions. Already, China has started an expansion of its airbases in Tibet and Xinjiang by building underground pens for fighter aircraft as well as the deployment of top of the line missiles.
8. The PLA aggression from Daulet Beg Oldi to Chumar in Ladakh is part of a two-pronged strategy designed to ensure the depth to highway number 219 from Lhasa to Kashgar as well as to push India to yield to the construction of a parallel highway through Karakoram Pass to rival the one running through the Khunjerab pass north of Siachen Glacier.
9. It is because China has grand plans for CPEC, that it has no incentive in settling the boundary issue with India as this will permanently block Beijing’s ambitions in South Asia.
10) With Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar now close allies, China’s next move could be to settle the border ostensibly in favour of Bhutan like it did with Yangon. Once the border is settled, it will open diplomatic ties with Thimphu and then, the kingdom may go the Nepal way. If this happens, India’s ring-fencing is complete.
This may sound like a complete plan for China except for the fact that the Modi government will contest Beijing on each and every point.
[With Inputs From News Agencies]
National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.