Monthly Archives: August 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s forthcoming “informal summit” in China raises the strong possibility of improving the relations between the two countries. There has been a flurry of activity for the last few months involving National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, among others. This raises the hope of a substantial progress, an entente cordiale, since the summit meeting has been arranged after adequate preparation, including confidence-building measures on both sides.India has shown concern regarding Chinese sensitivities on the Dalai Lama. The ghost of the 73-day stand-off in Doklam has now been buried and the concerns about the Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean have been kept aside in an attempt to focus on commonalities rather than differences. The Modi-Jinping summit in Wuhan is expected to yield rich dividends and it will set the stage for the Prime Minister’s second visit to China in June, when he is scheduled to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting.India has been moving energetically to repair relations with neighbouring countries. The reset with China is needed because of the changing geopolitical situation in which both Beijing and New Delhi seek to build an alliance that can weather the mercurial US. The summit meeting is a major investment for both leaders. They will seek to set the tone of the relationship that will then be followed up by officials concerned from both nations. The devil is always in the details, but the expectation is that there would be effort to find practical solutions to each other’s concerns. President Jinping needs India to be on board his Belt and Road Initiative, while India has territorial concerns since it runs through the PoK. Just as India has done, China too has made some concessions already. It announced it would resume sharing of hydrological data of the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers, which is crucial for flood prediction and relief planning. The two leaders have the ability to forge a new path of mutual benefit to the two countries. How well they seize the opportunity remains to be seen.

Tribune News Service 
Patna, April 22

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the newly inaugurated 6th battalion of ITBP in Bihar’s Saran district would give a sense of confidence to locals.

Speaking at the inauguration at Jalalpur in Saran district, he said attributed Bihar’s growth to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The new headquarters spread in 71 acres has nine building and about 1000 jawans would work. It took about two years for its completion.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 14

Seeking rectification of an anomaly that has affected about 39,000 officers, the Army has written to the Controller General of Defence Accounts and reminded it that the error should have been corrected in August 2012 itself when the Ministry of Defence okayed the move.In its letter, the Army has claimed that it had received a large number of representations about the provisions okayed by the government not being granted (by the CGDA).As per directions by the Ministry of Finance and endorsed by the MoD, all officers in service as on January 1, 2006, were to get an additional increment. In July 2012, the Ministry of Finance issued a letter that Central Civil Pay Rules had been amended and July 1 was accepted as uniform date for annual increments for all employees.It further said to bring parity, all employees whose increments were due between February and June 2006 may be granted one increment on January 1, 2006. Based on the Finance Ministry letter, the MoD issued its letter saying the same be implemented for the forces too. The Army has compiled details of all affected officers, some of whom may have retired, and sent a copy to the CGDA.A senior functionary said most Army men held any post for not more than three years and there was no continuity or system of a follow-up. A matter that should have been sorted out automatically remained pending, forcing the Army to take it up, he said.

Kochi, April 12

The Southern Naval Command was augmented with the arrival of INS Magar from Vishakhapatnam.The ship was welcomed by Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, Chief of Staff, headquarters of Southern Naval Command, on Wednesday, a defence press release said on Thursday.The ship would join the first training squadron for training young officers. Over the next few weeks, it would undergo modification for accommodating sea trainees, prior to commencing her training role, the release said.Thereafter, it would be used to impart training in seamanship, navigation, ship-handling, boat-work, engineering and electrical departmental skills, among other disciplines.Also, the ship would expose the trainees to the rigorous life at sea, the release added.The ship is being prepared to increase the capacity of the training squadron to meet the rise in the training load of officer-trainees and also to cater to the maintenance requirements of the existing ships.INS Magar, a Landing Ship Tank (large) of the Navy, was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd, Kolkata, and commissioned on July 18, 1987.Over the past 30 years, the ship has participated in amphibious exercises, fleet deployment and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. The major operations undertaken by the ship include Operation Pawan (Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka), wherein it played a role in movement of logistics supplies to the area of operations and supported the IPKF land forces.The ship has participated in all major amphibious exercises on both seaboards and also undertaken humanitarian and disaster relief operations on numerous occasions. The noteworthy operation was during the 2004 tsunami, wherein the ship provided relief to 1,300 survivors.INS Magar is commanded by Commander Praveen Kumar Sinha, a marine commando who is a qualified “saturation diver” and specialised in counter-terrorist operations and explosive ordnance disposal. PTI

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 8

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday announced a special grant of Rs 25 lakh for the development and upgrade of the Sikh Regiment Centre at Chandimandir.The CM attended the ‘Baisakhi Lunch 2018’, hosted by the regiment in the Khetarpal Officers’ Institute at the Chandimandir Military Station.Recalling his association with the Army, Capt Amarinder reiterated his commitment to the welfare of the soldiers and ex-servicemen. He said the grant would help in the development of sports infrastructure and other related facilities at the centre. He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to extend all possible assistance to the defence personnel and their families.Earlier, the Colonel of the regiment, Lt Gen SK Jha, thanked the CM for efforts to ensure a second career for JCOs and Other Ranks (ORs) after their superannuation from the defence services. General Jha lauded Capt Amarinder’s regimental spirit and acknowledged his concern for the well-being of soldiers.

Raipur, April 9

Naxals targeted a bus ferrying nearly 30 jawans with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur, leaving two of them dead and five injured, the second attack on Monday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the district on Saturday.Earlier this morning, Naxals had triggered twin IED blasts and opened fire on a patrolling team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Bijapur-Bhopalpatnam road in the district that led to a gun-battle. However, no casualty was reported on either side in that incident.The explosion targeting the bus occurred near Godma village, around 450 km from the state capital, when the jawans were out on an anti-Maoist operation, police said.“Two jawans belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG) were killed and five others sustained injuries in the explosion,” a senior police official told PTI.The IED blast damaged the front portion of the bus, which was carrying a squad of at least 30 jawans.The personnel sitting in the front side bore the brunt of the explosion, he said.Additional personnel were rushed to the spot soon after the incident and the injured jawans were taken to a hospital in Bijapur, he said.

Further details are awaited.

Notably, the security forces have intensified search operations in the forest in view of the prime minister’s visit to Bijapur scheduled on April 14. — PTI

The PLA has deployed a new patrol boat to the Pangong Lake in Ladakh, which has a top speed of 40 km per hour and can resist ice collisions. File photo

Beijing, April 9

China’s military is bolstering the management of its border defence by developing new types of equipment, including a satellite early-warning system that can be used to monitor border areas in all environments, according to official media reports.

A satellite early-warning monitoring system is planned in some border areas that are in dispute or are difficult to enter and patrol, state-run Beijing Evening News reported on Sunday.

A surveillance camera network has also been built in border zones and the density of coverage is set to increase to cover blind spots, the report said but did not mention which, or if all, of China’s border regions are covered.

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China covers 3,488 km, which includes Arunachal Pradesh, claimed by China as part of southern Tibet.

The informatisation and mechanisation of equipment, vehicles and monitoring methods of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) border defence will give an early-warning of any risks to security as well as overcoming previous blind spots, Song Zhongping, a military expert was quoted as saying by the Global Times.

The PLA has to increase the level of automation of its equipment, Song noted. This will include using drones and tracking vehicles to conduct patrols and setting up unmanned monitoring systems, which means border regions will come under continuous monitoring and control.

To cater to various geographic environments along China’s long borders, the PLA has developed equipment that can be used in water, in the air or on land, Song said.

While reporting about the new border monitoring system, the Global Times mentioned the Pangong Lake in Ladakh, where skirmishes took place between Indian and Chinese troops after border guards foiled an attempt by Chinese soldiers to enter the Indian territory in August last year.

The PLA has deployed a new patrol boat there, which is made of non-metallic materials, the report said. The craft has a top speed of 40 km per hour and can resist ice collisions.

A type of heavy scout vehicle, called the “wild ox,” capable of accommodating 17 full-armed soldiers, has been deployed to a border defence regiment in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, which shares a border with three countries.

Besides a BeiDou satellite navigation system, akin to that of US Global Position System (GPS), the vehicle also has a real-time communication system installed.

The scout vehicle also has water filters, a kitchen and a toilet so it can conduct patrols in tropical environments.

The report also implied that in the jungles of Yunnan, the sparsely populated deserts of Xinjiang and the high plateaus in Tibet, PLA troops began using drones to patrol more areas than 10 years ago, which has resulted in a 25-fold increase in efficiency.

Border defence troops in Koktokay, in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, have recently tested more than 20 types of new equipment.

Koktokay in northern Xinjiang and bordering Mongolia has an average temperature of -20 degree Celsius in winter.

A new type of bottle that can keep water hot for 24 hours has been issued to soldiers in Koktokay.

The troops garrisoned at Koktokay have also tested other new equipment such as cold-proof blankets, tents and snow camouflage suits.

“Logistics support is the main guarantee to generate combat capability,” Song said.

“These changes all benefit from China’s increasing military technology ability and innovation,” Song noted.

Previous reports said guard rails have been set up along the border to prevent terrorists sneaking into China through Xinjiang’s Kashgar, a prefecture that shares a border with Afghanistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Kyrgyzstan.

China has ramped up security along the Xinjiang border to prevent the crossings of militants of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) active in the province. PTI

Chandigarh, April 3

The Western Command has taken an initiative of imparting self-defence training to families of serving armed forces personnel. The step has been taken in view of the recent attacks on Army camps at Sunjuwan and Nagrota where families of serving defence personnel became a soft target for the militants.The Electronics and Mechanical Engineers’ unit at Chandimandir organised a special session where trained professionals from a martial art academy demonstrated self-defence skills to women and children residing in the station.Families of Army personnel are permitted to stay in some military stations and camps in Jammu and Kashmir and they are accommodated in quarters located in a separate enclosure.In the Sunjuwan terror attack in February, the terrorists were cornered in one of the family quarters and about 150 residential houses within the complex were reportedly evacuated. In addition to the killing of two Army personnel, nine people, including five women and children were injured.A “hostage-like” situation was created when terrorists attacked an Army unit in Nagrota in 2016 and moved towards the mess complex. Two women, two children and 12 personnel were later rescued. Even during the terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force station in 2016, a large number of IAF personnel’s families were present inside.

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 25

It might sound absurd but the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) takes longer time to finalise the tendering process for procurement of fresh ration for its personnel than the period for which it is to be supplied — courtesy red tape.However, the ITBP attributes the delay in procurement of fresh ration, including vegetables, fruits, fresh milk (tetra packs), meat, chicken and eggs, to cumbersome “procedures” that are required to be followed before finalising the tenders.According to sources, the Station Headquarters (SHQ), ITBP, based in Ladakh, issued a notification regarding an e-tender on January 16 this year for procurement of fresh ration for six months (from March 1, 2018 to August 31, 2018) for its 47th Battalion at Rae camp in Samba district.“The tendering process was to be completed in February so that the successful bidder could supply fresh ration from March 1 but it did not happen that resulted in the cancellation of the tender,” a source said.The source claimed the ITBP did the same thing last year when the SHQ had issued three tenders for the supply of fresh ration for six months for the Samba unit.“The first notification was issued on February 23, 2017. The second notification was issued on April 13, 2017,” the source said, adding that the third tender was floated on June 2, 2017. “As per the record available on e-tender website, the tender was not even finalised till August last year and what happened thereafter we don’t know,” the source said, adding, “Complaints were made to the Union Home Ministry as it was not clear whether the ITBP personnel were served fruits and vegetables for the period.” When contacted, Jaipal Yadav, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), ITBP, SHQ, Ladakh, said the finalisation of tenders was delayed because they were bound “to follow the laid down procedures.”“It mandatory for us to follow the procedures for the finalisation of the tendering process. This year, the tender has been cancelled because documents of bidders were incomplete,” the DIG said.He also rejected the allegations that the ITBP personnel remained without fresh ration, vegetables, fruits and meat until the tenders were finalised last year. “The commandant of the unit was authorised to set up a purchase committee to get the fresh ration from local market,” Yadav said while accusing contractors of unleashing this “propaganda.”“These contractors are basically ‘badmash’ (goons). There are adverse reports against them and how can they say that personnel were not getting ration. This is a propaganda,” the DIG said, adding that they also wrote several “false letters” to malign the image of the force.“If we do anything wrong, the audit people will grill us,” he said.

Tender cancelled

The Station Headquarters, ITBP, based in Ladakh, issued a notification regarding an e-tender on January 16 this year for procurement of fresh ration for six months (from March 1, 2018 to August 31, 2018) for its 47th Battalion at Rae camp in Samba district. The tendering process was to be completed in February so but it did not happen that resulted in the cancellation of the tender