The stern warning to India by a hawkish People’s Liberation Army general against “provoking new trouble” on the border hours before defence minister A.K. Antony began a high-profile visit to Beijing on Thursday might indicate China is getting nervous about the proposed establishment of an Indian Army mountain strike corps in India’s eastern sector bordering China that will for the first time give the Indian Army offensive capabilities vis-a-vis China.
The warning also reflects China’s intimidatory tactics ahead of a high-profile visit.
Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan, executive vice-president and secretary-general of the China Strategy Culture Promotion Association, said: “There is no denying that there are tensions and problems between China and India, particularly at the border areas. There is still the problem of 90,000 sq km territory occupied by the Indian side. These are the problems left over from history and we should look at it with a cool head,” he said.
Speaking to foreign correspondents in Beijing, he added: “The Indian side should not provoke new problems and increase military deployment at the border areas and start new trouble.” Gen. Luo is known for hawkish and extreme views on China’s strategic and military relations with its neighbours and the United States. His 90,000 sq km remark is a reference to China’s claim to Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls “Southern Tibet”. India, he said, was the only country in the world which says it is developing military power due to a threat from China. India, he said, “should be cautious about what it says and what it does”.
Mr Antony, who reached Shanghai by an Air India flight and later flew to Beijing by a special plane on Thursday, along with a high-powered delegation, is the first Indian defence minister to visit China in seven years. He will hold formal talks with his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Chang Wanquan, in Beijing on Friday. He is also expected to meet Premier Li Keqiang, and visit a military installation and command centre, but it is not clear if he will also call on President Xi Jinping.
Mr Antony’s visit comes days after national security adviser Shivshankar Menon and China’s Yang Jiechi held the 16th round of border talks here.
The Indian Army’s new mountain strike corps will drastically boost troop levels in the eastern sector and help India shed its traditionally defensive posture towards China. India is also moving ahead with the acquisition of ultra-light howitzer artillery guns from the United States for deployment in the eastern sector’s mountain areas. This will phenomenally raise the Indian Army’s firepower.