Monthly Archives: August 2018

Air Cmde Nitin Sathe
THE air operations in famous Battle of Laungewala is a pre-eminent landmark in the history of the Indian Air Force and stands out as perhaps its most decisive contribution to the 1971 Indo-Pak War on the western front, particularly the Rajasthan sector. It was a unique operation which led to the rout of Pakistani armour and infantry by air power alone.
On the December 4-5, 1971, Pakistan carried out a daring armoured thrust into Indian territory with two armoured regiments supported by two brigades of infantry, something that the Indians had never envisaged that they would attempt in the Laungewala sector. Laungewala was poorly defended by just one company of 120 odd troops of the 23 Punjab infantry battalion, which was grossly inadequate to counter the enemy attack. While they were surrounded by enemy tanks and fought well to ward them off through a tense night of fighting, the IAF came to their rescue at first light on December 5.

IAF Hunter aircraft flew through the day from the newly commissioned airfield of Jaisalmer and routed the enemy armour forcing them to retreat. And while they did so, the IAF Hunters continued their merciless attack on them leaving a trail of destroyed tanks, vehicles and equipment right into the enemy territory.
Air Chief Marshal PC Lal, in his autobiography, “My years with the Indian Air Force” writes, “It was a clean battle, the only of its kind, between Pakistani armour and the Indian forces. It was clean in the sense that the Air Force alone fought the Pakistani ground forces because apart for an infantry company deployed at Laungewala, there were no troops to oppose the enemy.”

The IAF managed to destroy 40 tanks, several pieces of artillery and scores of vehicles in the battle which was fought during daylight hours of December 5-6.

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 4

The BSF, which is deployed along 6,386 km of the International Border with Pakistan and Bangladesh, today organised a ceremonial parade, comprising the Mahila Prahari contingent at Guru Nanak Dev University in the holy city on the occasion of its 58th Raising Day.

For the second time, the Raising Day parade has been organised outside New Delhi. Last year, the event was held in Jaisalmer.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai was the chief guest and took the salute of the parade, which comprised 12 contingents, including Mahila Prahari contingent, decorated officers and men, Camel contingent and Camel Band, mounted column, dog squad, communication contingent displaying technological advances by the force with special appearance by the BSF Bagpipers (men and women).

The MoS said, “Daredevil performance by women contingent proves that they are equally scripting stories of their indomitable courage.”

Rai added that various challenges, including infiltration, smuggling of arms, narcotics and drone penetrations from across the border were being effectively thwarted by the BSF.

“The Centre will leave no stone unturned to provide best equipment and infrastructure to ensure that operational challenges are fully met,” the MoS said, adding that the BSF’s presence along the IB has instilled a sense of security, in the mind of citizens.

Paying rich tribute to bravehearts, who laid down their lives in the line of duty, he recalled the role of the BSF in the 1971 war.

Pankaj Kumar Singh, Director-General, BSF, informed about new initiatives and preparations to deal with future challenges.

“Drones are posing a challenge to the forces. However, effective anti-drone mechanism and strict vigil has helped in foiling substantial number of such attempts,” he said, adding that the BSF has shot down 17 drones, 16 along the IB in Punjab and one in Jammu, this year.

He said over 500 kg of narcotics between November 2021 and October 2022, 64 weapons, 845 rounds of ammunition and fake currency had been seized by the paramilitary force.

Vice Admiral Girish Luthra (retd), Admiral Sunil Lanba (retd), Vice Admiral Anup Singh (retd) and Vice Admiral Anil Chawla (retd) during panel discussion at the 6th Military Literature Festival in Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune Photo: Nitin Mittal

PTI

Chandigarh, December 3

India’s approach in the Indo-Pacific region cannot remain only diplomatic and has to be matched with maritime and naval capabilities, more importantly aircraft carriers, Vice Admiral Girish Luthra (retd) said here on Saturday.

He also said that China, which has an ambition of being a regional and global power, has acquired a new strategic identity and has made a decisive shift in its maritime approach.

Luthra was speaking at the 6th edition of the Military Literature Festival here.

He was taking part in a discussion on ‘Relevance of aircraft carriers in power projection.’    Admiral Sunil Lanba (retd), who was the moderator, Vice Admiral Anil Chawla (retd), and Vice Admiral Anup Singh (retd) also attended the event.

“Today Indo-pacific is a very coherent and accepted strategic space. The interconnectedness of this region is what is giving a new dynamism to this region. Within this new development of this region, the maritime areas are the growth underbelly of it,” Luthra said.

“This is the period of uncertainty in which we are going through phases like globalisation versus nationalism.

“We are going through traditional security concepts not applicable anymore and almost all countries are following the strategy of hedging,” he said

It is the Indo-Pacific region which is now the area of geopolitical, geoeconomic, and technological competition, he said.

The former vice admiral attributed the primary reason for a newfound attention to this region to its overwhelming stake in the global trade.

“Sixty per cent of world GDP, two-thirds of global growth, and 70 per cent of world trade takes place in the Indo-Pacific region,” Luthra said.https://920a6711e7b0bf7f2a5c365ae3aeefcc.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

He further said that several countries have hammered their strategies to the Indo-Pacific region in light of this changed scenario.

US, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, The Netherlands, European Union etc are some such countries, he said.

Speaking about China, Luthra said, “We have seen in the last 20-25 years the rise of China with a new strategic identity.” “China recognises that its ambition of being a regional and global power cannot be fulfilled without suitable positioning and actions in the maritime domain. 

“When I say the decisive shift to the maritime orientation, I am not for one moment suggesting that it has given up its continental orientation,” he said. 

“Certainly, continental orientation continues but it is the mix of the continental and maritime orientations. There is an increased emphasis on maritime orientation,” he added.

He said China wants to sustain its leadership in trade, wants to have a world-class military by 2035 and win war against its strong adversary by 2049.

He said that in 2008, India came up with the concept of a net security provider in the Indian ocean region. In 2018, the Prime Minister outlined the vision for Indo-Pacific at Shangri La dialogue. And in 2019, the Indo-Pacific Ocean initiatives were announced.

Stressing on the aircraft carriers’ strategic, operational, and tactical roles, Luthra said the role of carriers has evolved and adapted in line with the emergence of new technologies. 

There are seven countries with aircraft carriers and five other countries which are using helicopter carriers, he added. 

“India’s outlook and approach in the Indo-pacific cannot only be diplomatic. It has to be matched by suitable maritime and naval capabilities and aircraft carriers play a major role in that.

“We need to prevent domination by another power, particularly in the Indian ocean region, and once again the aircraft carriers have a key role,” he said. 

The navy man said the opposition to aircraft carriers stems primarily from their prohibitive cost and vulnerability. “I think both these objections are overstated.” “Aircraft carriers along with other instruments provide strong deterrence. The deterrence is never to be seen with one single instrument like a carrier; it works in tandem with diplomatic, economic and other instruments of national power,” he added.

Vice Admiral Anil Chawla (retd) said China’s Shandong aircraft carrier can carry 40 aircrafts, and another aircraft carrier to be commissioned in 2024 will have an airwing of 85 aircraft.

He said China has also an ambitious plan to have an aircraft carrier which will be the bigger than US’ Ford Class, which can carry 100 aircrafts.

China is slowly matching up to the US aircraft carrier, he said.

Admiral Lanba (retd) said India has a rich maritime heritage which dates back 4,000-5,000 years, going right back to the time of Indus Valley civilization.

“India’s destiny and future is linked to the ocean, especially the Indian ocean. We sit astride very important sea lines of communication which criss-cross east and west,” said Lanba.  

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 4

A first-of-its-kind project in India, aimed at enabling the defence community to tell their stories to citizens, was launched by a Chandigarh-based publisher at the Military Literature Festival here today.

Christened “Fauji Days,” it is an oral history-chronicling and military publishing initiative that will feature veterans, where they would record their reminiscences, tell their anecdotes and bring to light stories that otherwise largely go untold or remain confined to close families and friends.

Many of these stories would be told by teenagers and young adults who would interview veterans.

The first episode, which was premiered today, featured a candid, unscripted interview of the legendary war disabled officer and India’s first blade runner, Major DP Singh, by Sohraab Singh, a class IX student and NCC cadet at a local school.

Pankaj Punit Singh, who launched the project, said the interviews and archived material would be accessible by the public through a website, which would also have reference material on culture and traditions of the military as well as blogs by eminent veterans and civilians.

Poonch, November 23

Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said the Indian Army is ready to execute orders like taking back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

“As far as the Indian Army is concerned, it will carry out any order given by the Government of India. Whenever such orders are given, we will always be ready for it,” said Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Northern Army Commander, on the Defence Minister’s statement of taking back PoK.

“The military is always ready to make sure that ceasefire understanding is never broken as it is in the interest of both nations, but if broken at any time, we will give them a befitting reply,” said Dwivedi, Northern Army Commander on the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.

“The country has over 50 per cent of people below the age of 25. If we take them in as Agniveers, teach them and send them back, we will absorb some, others by paramilitary, and police forces and the remaining can be self-employed,” he stated.

“We have almost 160 terrorists sitting at the launchpad of which there are 130 north of Pir Panjal and 30 south of Pir Panjal. As for the complete hinterland, a total of 82 Pakistani terrorists and 53 local terrorists are there,” he further stated.

Earlier on October 28, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated New Delhi’s resolve to take back PoK, saying all refugees would get their land and homes back.

Beijing is considering military bases in several nations

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, December 4

After setting up its first overseas military base at Djibouti (Africa) in 2017, China is looking at a base in Cambodia in the Indo-Pacific and close to the maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

Deep port facility in Cambodia

• In early 2021, dredgers spotted off Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, where China is funding construction of a deep port facility
• In June 2021, Cambodian Defence Minister accepted China would help expand and modernise the base

In early 2021, dredgers were spotted off Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, where the Chinese are funding construction work to have a deep port facility — necessary for the docking of larger military warships. In June 2021, Cambodian Defence Minister accepted that China would help modernise and expand the Ream Naval Base.

The US assessment says China is seeking to expand its overseas logistics and basing infrastructure to allow the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China to project and sustain military power at greater distances.

The PLA base in Djibouti now has an operational 450-metre ship berthing pier which will be able to accommodate the Chinese Navy’s aircraft carriers, other large combatants and even submarines.

After kicking off work in Cambodia, the likely other places being considered for military bases are in Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan among other places as locations for PLA military logistics facilities.

China has probably already made overtures to Namibia, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands which are well known. Not all attempts of China are expected to fructify. Such bases not just help in military conflict but enable diplomatic signalling, political change, bilateral and multilateral cooperation and training. Crucially, all this will enable intelligence gathering.

Beijing may use a mixture of military logistics models. These could include a preferred access to commercial infrastructure abroad, exclusive logistics facilities with prepositioned military supplies and bases with forces stationed. Some of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects could create a potential military advantage, with PLA getting access to foreign ports to pre-position the logistics support to sustain naval deployments in the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

The Sixth Military Literature Festival – 2022 was inaugurated at Sukhna Lake here on Saturday by Punjab Minister for Tourism Anmol Gagan Mann.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence and the services of the armed forces, the festival was jointly organised by the Military Literature Festival Association in association with the Punjab government, Western Command and the Chandigarh Administration.

The festival is being celebrated under the theme ‘The Armed Forces: Defending Free India for the Last 75 Years’. It will conclude on Sunday.dressing the youth, the minister said the purpose of the Military Literature Festival is to remember the sacrifice of the brave soldiers who fought on the borders and served the country at the risk of their lives.

She explained that the contribution of military warriors to the security of the country cannot be forgotten. She added Punjab is the land of warriors and history is a witness that the warriors here never allowed Punjab to be looted. India, especially Punjab, has always shown unparalleled bravery on the war fronts and sacrificed their lives for the country and the nation.

She appealed to the youth of the new generation to join the military and make their valuable contribution to serve the country. She said Punjab is the land of Gurus and warriors, the warriors of Punjab have always fought against crime.

0She said every citizen of India lives a happy life only if the soldiers secure the country. She said that the service of the country by the soldiers is a matter of pride and the state government is always available with the soldiers for all possible help.

Military Literature Festival: Scholar-warrior, Army’s ethos changing, says ex-commander

Experts discuss Pakistan

Experts discussed the prevailing instability in Pakistan and its impact on India during a panel discussion, with the opinion being that the neighbouring country would continue to face problems.

Defence Intelligence Agency former head Lt Gen Kamal Davar said the “deep state” in Pakistan, manifested by unbridled powers and undying greed, had worsened relations with India.https://4b63a39b3badfcdf5ac8e1414001da38.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

Shalini Chawla, a fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, said: “The newly appointed Pakistan army chief has a daunting task ahead as he needs to revive the army’s position and respect in society.”

‘Democratic institutions robust’

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has said democracy in India is flourishing only because the armed forces maintain a constant watch on the borders in adverse conditions, while other citizens sleep comfortably in their homes.

“Democratic institutions in India remain strong and robust. Though the country attained Independence 75 years ago, it is important to preserve freedom,” he said at the closing ceremony of the literature festival.

Prof Chaman Lal makes a point. Photos: Vicky