Army to outsource tank repairs to private parties

Indian Army is set to outsource repair and maintenance of its Russian-origin tank fleet of T-72 and T-90 tanks to private companies.

Bids have been invited from private vendors by asking the how they would undertake operations of Delhi-based 505 Army Base Workshop (ABW). The Army has used what they call “Government Owned Corporate Operated” (GOCO) model to describe this. Under provisions of GOCO, mooted in 2017, infrastructure and facilities of ABWs will remain under the ownership of the government while the contractors will be responsible for the day-to-day operations, plant maintenance and meeting targets.

India operates some 3,600 tanks of these two types, including some 1200 T-90 tanks and 2,400 T-72 tanks. This is part of the government’s plan to rationalise Army manpower and reduce the “tail” as recommended by the Lt Gen DB Shekatkar committee in 2016. A Committee of Experts (CoE) under the Chairmanship of Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (Retd), was constituted in 2016 recommended outsourcing the functioning of the ABWs to private sector players.

The first stage of the bid called the Request for Information (RFI) has been sent out.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has barred its own Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) and also the Ordnance Factories from bidding.

The 505 Army Base Workshop has carried out repairs of tanks as well as engines and major/minor assemblies of tanks. It currently overhauls 70 of the T-72 tanks annually and its associated engine, assemblies.

From this financial year, the 505 ABW is scheduled to start all these activities for T90 tanks.

Eight Army Base Workshops were established by the British during the Second World War (1939-1945) to carry out repairs and overhaul of weapons, vehicles and equipment to keep the Indian Army operationally ready.

Tribune

In major defence reforms, govt pushes for desi arms

The armed forces will now have to willy-nilly shed their penchant for exorbitant foreign weapon systems and platforms, unless they can be made in India through joint ventures with global armament and aviation majors.

This was the unequivocal message in the announcement of some long-pending defence reforms by the government on Saturday, which ranged from banning the import of certain weapons through a progressively-expanding negative list to significantly hiking the FDI limit to 74% from the existing 49% in the defence production sector through the automatic clearance route.

Several global arms majors have for long been demanding the hike in the FDI limit on the ground that they need “more management control” of the JVs to step up investments and provide top-notch military technologies to India.

India has attracted a paltry Rs 1,834 crore as FDI in the defence and aerospace sectors since 2014. In the same timeframe, the country has inked over 120 “capital procurement” contracts roughly worth around Rs 2 lakh crore with foreign armamentcompanies.

India, with an annual defence budget of about $70 billion, is behind only the US ($732 billion) and China ($261 billion) in terms of military expenditure around the globe. It is also the second-largest buyer of foreign weaponry after Saudi Arabia in the world, accounting for 9.2% of the total global arms imports during 2015-2019.

This will no longer do, declared finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, though some cutting-edge weapons will continue to be imported. India will stop importing arms that can be made indigenously to reduce the “huge defence import bill”, with a thrust also on domestically manufacturing even the expensive spares of the imported weapons. A separate capital budget, in turn, will also be created to buy indigenously-produced weapons, she said.

"We will notify a list of weapons and platforms for ban on their imports and fix deadlines to do it,” she said. The negative list, to be prepared in coordination with the newly-created department of military affairs led by chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat, will be expanded every year as domestic production capacities grow. Among the first lot of weapon systems to be included in this list are likely be artillery guns and some types of helicopters, said sources.

A clear indication of these big-bang reforms, with the renewed thrust on “Make in India”, had come in the exclusive interview of Gen Rawat published in the May 10 edition of TOI.

The 15-lakh strong Indian armed forces, which do not have an “expeditionary” role, have to get rid of their overwhelming dependence on foreign arms and refrain from framing “unrealistic” technical parameters or GSQRs (general staff qualitative requirements) for weapon systems that DRDO-domestic industry cannot deliver in specified timeframes, Gen Rawat had told TOI.

Sitharaman, on her part, said there would be a time-bound defence procurement process, with “faster decision-making” through the setting of a “project management unit” to support contract management, “realistic” framing of GSQRs and overhauling of the cumbersome trial and testing procedures. Unrealistic GSQRs often result in a lengthy search for weapons and lead to single-vendor situations that are against the rules, she said.

The 41 factories under the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which with an annual turnover of around Rs 19,000 crore is the main source of supply of arms and ammunition for the Army, will also be “corporatized” to improve its “autonomy, accountability and efficiency”, she said, stressing that it did not mean “privatization” in any way.

The Army had last year sounded the alarm over the unacceptably high number of accidents and casualties taking place in the field due to the poor and defective quality of ammunition being supplied for tanks, artillery, air defence and other guns by the OFB, as was then reported by TOI.

The long-pending draft note for the Cabinet Committee on Security on corporatizationof the OFB says it would help increase the state-owned entity’s turnover to Rs 30,000 crore by 2024-25, enhance its exports to 25% of the turnover, and increase self-reliance in technology from the existing 20% to 75% by 2028-29.

TOI

Rajnath approves Rs 400-cr scheme for testing infrastructure

Defence minister Rajnath Singh has approved a Rs 400-crore scheme for creating testing infrastructure in the defence sector, the ministry said in a statement on Friday. Called the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme, it will run for five years and envisages the setting up of six to eight modern testing facilities in partnership with the private sector.

The majority of the testing facilities are expected to come up in the two defence industrial corridors (DICs) in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, officials said. The scheme, however, will not be limited to setting up facilities in the DICs only.

The scheme is aimed at giving a boost to domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing.


“This will facilitate indigenous defence production and consequently reduce import of military equipment and help make the country self-reliant,” the statement said, adding that the projects under the scheme will be given up to 75% government funding.

The remaining 25% of the cost will be borne by the special purpose vehicle (SPV) whose constituents will be Indian private entities and the state governments.

The SPVs under the scheme will be registered under the Companies Act 2013 and operate and maintain assets “in a self-sustainable manner by collecting user charges,” the ministry said. The equipment tested will be certified as per appropriate accreditation, it added.

The draft Defence Production Policy-2018 visualises India as one of the top five countries in the aerospace and defence sectors in the coming years, with defence goods and services accounting for a turnover of Rs 1.7 lakh crore by 2025. It also seeks to drastically reduce India’s dependence on imported military hardware over the next five years.

Despite pursuing the Make in India programme vigorously to reduce military imports, the country was the second-largest arms importer in the world over the last five years, according to data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in March.

 hindustantimes

US Navy Rushes Its Sub-Hunting Helicopters To India, Eye On China

The Indian and US governments were in such a hurry to get sub-hunting US helicopters into the hands of the Indian navy that the Americans gave up some of their own helicopters to fill a rushed delivery early next year.

“This really was one of the higher priorities the [Indian] navy had, to get these aircraft delivered,” Tom Kane, director of Sikorsky’s Naval Helicopter Programs told reporters this morning. “I requested that the aircraft be made available on an accelerated basis. So I think there is an urgent need.”

The urgency stems from the decade-long process India has undergone to replace its aging fleet of British-made naval helicopters, as Chinese navy ships, underwater drones and so-called maritime militia civilian-flagged fishing boats spread further into the Indian Ocean.
 With New Delhi in a hurry to begin getting the state-of-the-art helicopters into use, and the US government eager to pull India closer as a hedge against growing Chinese naval capabilities, the US Navy allowed Sikorsky to take three of its brand new MH-60R Sea Hawks and begin modifying them to Indian standards to deliver next spring. The Navy will receive new MH-60R’s in a few years to replace them. The remaining 21 helicopters will be delivered in 2023 and 2024.

Most of the changes being made to the aircraft are in the communications and data sharing realm, Kane said. “They want the ability to talk to their satellites obviously, so there’s an Indian indigenous SATCOM data link. Also,they can talk to their ships so there’s a link to that they’ve asked us to install, and there’s some other modifications like a floatation system, and other things that we’ll have to [change] from the standard US Navy configuration,” he added.

The MH-60R was born to be a sub hunter, however, and that mission will remain central to the Indian configuration. “They’ll come off the line as ASW [anti-submarine warfare] aircraft so they’ll have the active dipping sonar,” the AN/APS-153 radar “and things that you would normally see on a US Navy configuration,” Kane said.

The deal is the largest contract Sikorsky has signed with the Indian government. Unlike most other programs, it’s not subject to the “Make in India” effort launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The company did not sign an offset agreement with India on the project, “so we will put more indirect work over in India,” Kane said. The Indian defense industry will also likely be involved in any maintenance and retrofit efforts on the aircraft in the coming years.

 Breaking Defense

Four Rafales to arrive in India by July-end, India to gain edge over Pak, China in air

In a major boost to India's firepower in air, first four Rafale fighter aircraft would start arriving in India by July-end this year from France.

The delivery of the aircraft was earlier supposed to have been done by May end but this was postponed by two months in view of the COVID-19 situation in both India and France.

"The first four aircraft including three twin-seater trainer aircraft and one single-seater fighter aircraft would start arriving by the end of July at the Ambala airbase. The trainers will have the tail numbers of the RB series in honour of the Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria who played a pivotal role in finalising India's largest-ever defence deal for 36 Rafale combat aircraft," defence sources told ANI here.
The first aircraft to be flown in is planned to be piloted by the Commanding Officer of the 17 Golden Arrows' squadron along with a French pilot, they said.

The aircraft on their way from France to India would be refuelled by a French Air Force tanker aircraft in the air before they make a stopover in the Middle East.

"From Middle East to India, there would be one mid-air refuelling done by the Indian IL-78 tanker before they land in India," sources said.

Sources said that the Rafales could have come directly from France to India but a 10-hour flight could have been stressful sitting inside a small cockpit.

The first batch of seven Indian pilots has also finished their training at a French airbase while the second batch would be going to France as soon as the lockdown measures are relaxed in both the countries.

Post lockdown, India received the first consignment of equipment from France when a cargo plane landed in Delhi last week and more equipment would arrive in the near future.

India had signed a deal worth over Rs 60,000 crore with France in September 2016 for 36 Rafales to meet the emergency requirements of the Indian Air Force.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was the Deputy Chief of Air Staff at that time and headed the Indian negotiation team for the deal which is the biggest ever in monetary terms in India.Armed with the long-range Meteor air to air missiles and SCALP, the Rafales would give India an edge over both Pakistan and China in terms of air strike capability.

Sources said the air to air and the air to ground strike capabilities of the Rafale cannot be matched by both China and Pakistan and the aircraft would give India an edge over both the rivals.

 ANI news

Sikorsky signs $905 million deal for 24 MH-60R anti-submarine helicopters for Indian navy

Sikorsky officially signed a contract with the US Navy to provide 24 examples of the MH-60R helicopter to the Indian navy for anti-submarine warfare.

The $905 million deal with New Delhi was anticipated, as it was reportedly cleared by the Indian Ministry of Defence in February. The sale will be handled by the USN via the Foreign Military Sale process. The first helicopter delivery to the Indian Navy is anticipated in spring 2021.

In the official US government contract notice, the USN is ordering three MH-60Rs, while India is ordering 21 examples.
 “The US Navy has allowed us to leverage three aircraft from their inventory of brand new aircraft that have never been introduced into the fleet — in order to provide them to the Indian Navy so they can begin training on a more accelerated basis than might normally be possible,” says Tom Kane, director of Sikorsky naval helicopter programmes.

Sikorsky declines to say what weapons and subsystems the Indian navy’s MH-60Rs would have. However, the manufacturer says the equipment would enable anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, as well as special operations, search and rescue, utility, vertical replenishment, and command and control missions.

Previously, the helicopters were to include weapons such as AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System rockets and Mk54 torpedoes and crew served guns, according to a Foreign Military Sales approval notice sent to the US Congress in 2019. The package was also to include multi-mode radars, sonobuoys and multi-spectral targeting systems.

However, that former notice valued the possible deal at $2.6 billion, much higher than the package announced today, so it is not clear what weapons and related equipment would be included in the final sale.

”The initial value of $905 million as announced by the US Navy today is for production of these aircraft. Additional follow-on work is required for unique modifications and systems, which is currently going through the bid and proposal process,” says Kane, noting Sikorsky is still negotiating with the US government. ”Prices can vary depending on specific requirements, unique equipment, length and scale of support, training and logistics packages.”

The main operator of the MH-60R helicopter is the USN, which has 289 examples in its fleet. It plans to fly the aircraft through 2040. The Royal Danish Navy, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces fly the aircraft as well.
 The Indian navy is also searching for 111 Naval Utility Helicopters to replace its aging fleet of Hindustan Aeronautics Chetak helicopters. Those new helicopters are intended for search and rescue, casualty evacuation, passenger and cargo transportation and torpedo drop roles.

India wants 95 helicopters out of the 111 Naval Utility Helicopters to be manufactured in country. The local offset would help replace production for the Chetak, a version of the Airbus Alouette III built in India under license.

 Flight Global

How India's support for Taiwan's WHO membership can rattle China

The surge in Taiwan's popularity and global support has been a major setback for China. It has rattled China to such an extent that it has threatened Taiwan with military action.

The United States, European Union, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are in favour of Taiwan's presence in the WHO’s World Health Assembly, which gets under way online on Monday, despite China's warnings.

India should utilise this window of opportunity as well and ensure an observer status for Taiwan at future WHO engagements to counter China.
 It should ignore the rebuttals, warnings and empty threats issued by Chinese spokespersons and state media Global Times.

This is a report about the Chinese army's upcoming drills in August to take over the Dongsha Islands occupied by Taiwan.

China’s foreign ministry warned Paris over a contract for Taiwan, which is planning to buy weapons from Paris as part of an upgrade to a French-made warship fleet bought 30 years ago.

However, France dismissed these warnings on Wednesday about selling arms to self-ruled Taiwan, saying it was implementing existing deals and that Beijing should focus on battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

China says Taiwan is part of ''One China'', and that this principle must be accepted by any country with which it has diplomatic relations.

The US State Department has launched a campaign called "Tweet for Taiwan" to ensure its seat for at the upcoming World Health Assembly. The International Organizations Bureau which is a part of the State Department posted it at the beginning of this month.

China is scared to let Taiwan flourish because the democratic country has outperformed an authoritarian China with only 440 cases and 7 deaths from the Wuhan virus.

Interestingly, Taiwan defeated the virus on its own without any support from the World Health Organization.

Earlier today, Taiwan's Vice President-elect, William Lai said ''Taiwan is not member of the World Health Organization mainly because it is not recognized yet by the United Nations. But, for eight years, it was invited to send observers to the World Health Assembly after the 2009 H1N1 epidemic.''

China realises that the momentum is with Taiwan and therefore, it wants to block every attempt to give it space on the world stage.

Beijing has opposed Taiwan's inclusion as an observer ever since 2016, when it elected Tsai Ing-wen as president.

It is noteworthy that Tsai belongs to a pro-independence party and she was re-elected this year.

She will take the oath of office again on May 20.

To celebrate the event, the Bank of Taiwan issued two commemorative coins featuring President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President-elect Lai.

 WION

India’s Defense Chief Opposes Aircraft Carrier Plans

Last week, India’s Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat said in an interview to an Indian newspaper that the Indian military is not an expeditionary force and should not be deploying forces around the globe. He said that Indian forces have “to guard and fight only along our borders, and, of course, dominate the Indian Ocean Region.”

He went on to add that the military services should not seek large imports “by misrepresenting our operational requirements.” He targeted the Indian Navy’s carrier plans, saying that because carriers, as surface vessels, can be “knocked off by missiles,” the Navy should invest more in submarines.

Rawat’s statements have several implications. Most importantly, it calls into question the Indian Navy’s and the Air Force’s acquisition plans. These are particularly important at a time when China has been both putting pressure on the Sino-Indian border and venturing into the Indian Ocean Region. Rawat’s comments could also bring back concern within the Navy and the Air Force about the Army’s dominance within the Indian military and potentially lead to intensified interservice rivalry among the three services. The creation of the chief of defense staff (CDS) post was meant at least partly to create greater synergy among the services and greater jointness, but that could be at risk if the two smaller services feel the CDS is being partial to the Army.
Clearly, the economic impact and the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic is going to be significant. The Indian defense budget allocation over the last two years has been the lowest since the early 1960s, but the COVID-19 impact is likely to lead to further slashing the defense budget. This in turn will affect major defense procurements, particularly for the Navy and Air Force. Both are services that require capital-intensive investment in acquisitions that take longer term planning and a lot of lead time. They are not going to be happy about the CDS’s comments.

This issue has clearly been on Rawat’s mind for some time, and possibly has been under debate within the government too; the CDS was repeating earlier comments. In February this year, Rawat said that the Indian Navy’s request for a third aircraft carrier may not be approved any time soon because the priority is to strengthen the submarine fleet.

The CDS cited cost as the major factor for this pushback. Rawat of course has to prioritize the military’s acquisition, depending on the available funds, but cutting down on aircraft carriers is likely not going to be easy. The Indian Navy is already pushing back.

Sources in the Indian Navy are reported to have said that the service is certain about its plans for a third aircraft carrier. They added that “the third aircraft carrier is an operational necessity. It is not that an aircraft carrier can be bought off the shelf. Even if all permissions are given today, it will take 15 years for the carrier to be inducted.” Admiral Karambir Singh, chief of the Indian Navy, previously stated that he was convinced that “the country needs three aircraft carriers, so that two are operational at all times.
And it should be 65,000 tonnes with electromagnetic propulsion,” probably a misquoted reference to the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) with which the Navy plans to equip future aircraft carriers. Navy sources have also argued that shore-based aircraft operations, as indicated by the CDS, will be limited in terms of range.
 India currently has one operational aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, which can host around 30 aircraft. The second, INS Vikrant, is still being built at the Cochin shipyard in south India, and is expected to be operational only by 2022, though even that is likely an optimistic timeline.

But Rawat’s emphasis on dominance in the Indian Ocean Region also cannot be addressed adequately if he plans to shrink the naval budget. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar have emphasized an ambitious agenda for the Indian Ocean Region. To play an effective role in this vast maritime space, India would need a much higher number of ships. A falling naval budget would not permit this.

India’s declining submarine fleet has been an additional matter of concern. With only 13 operational submarines, many of which are old, India cannot match the more capable navies in the Indo-Pacific, such as those of China and Japan. Unless India adds to its submarine fleet quickly, it may move down to the level of Pakistan, which has just eight operational submarines.

But the budget woes are unlikely to ease. The CDS and the Army leadership are also likely come under pressure to seriously think about downsizing the Army. With a strength of around 1.4 million personnel, the Indian Army is the world’s largest land force, followed by North Korea and China. China, in its attempt at modernizing its military, reduced the size of its Army by half and is now increasing its emphasis on the People’s Liberation Army Navy and Air Force.

Pensions and salaries are becoming the biggest burden on the military budget and crowding out capital investments and much of this is the result of India’s massive army. The CDS is right in arguing for budget prioritization, but this might lead to calls for pruning the Army.

 The Diplomat

Why Did the Indian Air Force Fighters Recently Scramble to Chinese Border?

Earlier this week Indian Air Force jet fighters conducted sorties over Ladakh near the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) border, the demarcation line that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory in the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The fighters flew missions over the disputed regions amidst the ongoing heightened tensions between Indian and Chinese troops that began after a scuffle between Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers and Indian Army troops along the LAC in North Sikkim resulted in injuries on both sides.

The fierce face-off involved some 250 Indian and Chinese soldiers, armed with rods, batons and stones, in the disputed “Finger 5” (mountainous spur) area on the northern bank of Pangong Tso. The confrontation was diffused after brigadier-level talks.“Aggressive behavior by the two sides resulted in minor injuries to troops,” Indian Army Eastern Command spokesperson Mandeep Hooda told Newsweek. “It was stone-throwing and arguments that ended in a fistfight.”

However, two frontline Sukhoi-30MKI jets of the IAF, flown from the Leh air base in Ladakh, were deployed to the region after a pair of Chinese military helicopters was detected flying close to the LAC.

“The Chinese military helicopters were flying very close to the Line of Actual Control. After their movement was picked up, the Indian Air Force fighter jets flew patrols in the area,” government sources told the Indian media.

In a statement reported by Newsweek, the Indian Army claimed that aggression between Indian and Chinese forces is not uncommon, and is usually resolved mutually as per established protocols. China has downplayed the incident and said in a statement that the two nations “stay in close communication concerning our border affairs within existing channels.”

However, tensions between the two Asian powers have been slowly rising along the LAC in recent years. One of the more tense confrontations occurred between India and China in 2017, resulting in a 73-day face-off after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army.

The contested area of the India-China border, the LAC spans a little over 2,500 miles. It was established as a demarcation line after the 1962 war, which ended in a Chinese victory when the PLA declared a ceasefire and withdrew to its claimed “Line of Actual Control.”

This latest incident occurred soon after Indian security establishment had noted increase patrols of Pakistani Air Force F-16S and JF-17s along the latter’s eastern border with India. In addition, earlier this month in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district five Indian security personnel including a colonel who headed the 21st battalion of the Rastriya Rifles were Martyred during a counter terrorism operation. Fears of retaliation by Indian forces have been seen as the reason for the ramped up Pakistani air patrols.

 The National Interest

India gears up for aggressive Chinese presence on borders

A week after the clashes between troops of Indian Army and Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA) on the border in Sikkim, security agencies are now apprehensive about huge presence of Chinese personnel and vehicles at Demchok sector of Ladakh region, which was normally used only for patrolling purpose.

According to officials keeping a close watch on the development, close to 1,000 heavy vehicles were seen across Demchok along with presence of about 5,000 Chinese personnel including troops from the PLA. Moreover, the Chinese troops are believed to have set up some tents in Galwan Nalah area also, possibly to oversee the construction work. In response to Chinese build up, Indian Army has moved additional troops in the area to keep a close watch on the development.

"Massive build up at Demchok is possibly for some big construction activities. Normally, they (Chinese) come in the area only for patrol and move back. Last time the huge presence of Chinese was seen in Dokalam area in summers of 2017," an official in the security establishment said. Last year in July, Chinese soldiers came close to Indian side in Demchok area, when some locals were celebrating the birthday of Dalai Lama.

In 2017, Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a 73 days standoff in Dokalam, a tri-junction between India, China and Bhutan. Eventually, after the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had a high-level dialogue with Chinese authorities, the issue was resolved and both military disengaged from their positions.
 "Chinese military do have the tendency to assert its claim on the LAC (Line of Actual Control). They are entitled to do whatever they do in their territory, but not in the 'disputed' area," the official added. Demchok sector is one of the 23 “disputed and sensitive areas” on the LAC, stretching from Arunachal Pradesh to Ladakh region.

The other sensitive areas include Trig Heights, Dumchele, Chumar, Spanggur Gap and Pangong Tso in Ladakh, and Namkha Chu, Sumdorong Chu, Asaphila, Dichu, Yangtse, and Fish Tail-I and II in Dibang Valley in Arunachal. Barahoti, Kaurik and Shipki La are in the middle sector.

On May 5, Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a face-off in the Pangong Tso area. Soon after the stand-off, Chinese military helicopters were seen close to the border. In response, Indian side also dispatched its frontline Sukhoi 30 fighter jets.

Shortly after the incident, Indian defence establishments denied of any border violation on either side. “SU-30MKI fighters were airborne in Ladakh on routine flying and weren't scrambled in response to Chinese People’s Liberation Army helicopters coming close to border during face-off with Army near Pangong Tso lake,” they said.

Four days later, on May 9, troops from both sides were involved in a brawl in Naku La in Sikkim, in which several injuries were reported on both sides.

Interestingly, Naku La does not figure in the disputed and sensitive areas that witness frequent transgressions and face-offs between both troops."First of all, Sikkim border with China is no longer disputed. So, there was hardly any incident of face-off. Aggressive patrol by Chinese troops in the area resulted in a brawl between the two sides. In a way, Chinese has reopened the debate of Sikkim border, which was already resolved," an officer, who has served in the area, said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army claimed that temporary and short duration "face-offs" between the troops from both sides occur as the boundary issue remains unresolved. Troops themselves resolve such incidents mutually as per established protocols.

"Incidents of face-off and aggressive behaviour occur on LAC. Patrols disengage after local-level interaction and dialogue," said an official.

 The Week

Suicide blasts kill 40 in Afghanistan; role of Pakistan's ISI suspected

Over 40 people, including two newborn babies were killed in two terror attacks in Afghanistan on Tuesday (May 12). Several gunmen disguised as policemen attacked a Kabul hospital killing 16 people in the early morning today. Notably, part of this hospital run by an international humanitarian organization ‘Doctors Without Borders’.

In another attack, a suicide bomber targeted the funeral of a police officer in the Nangahar province, killing 24 people. The government and police officials were also present at the funeral when the attack took place.

India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement to express strong condemnation of the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.

It said, "India strongly condemns the barbaric terrorist attacks against innocent civilians, including women and children, at the Dasht-e-Barchi hospital maternity ward, funeral in Nangarhar province and the Army check post in Laghman province on 11-12 May. Such reprehensible attacks, including on mothers, newly born children, nurses, and mourning families are appalling and constitute crimes against humanity."

The attack was in retaliation to the Afghan security forces' action to arrest top ISIS Commander Zia Ul-Haq, also known as Abu Omar Khorasani, along with two other top Daesh leaders.

In a joint operation, Afghan police and National Directorate of Security (NDS) special forces apprehended Khorasani, who is Daesh leader for the south and east areas of Asia and an Afghanistan citizen, in the Kart-e-Naw area of Kabul city. The two other terrorists- the terror group's head of public relations and its intelligence head--were also apprehended.

Counter-terror operatives from India and Afghanistan believe that Pakistan agencies could be behind the attack.

National Security Advisor of Afghanistan Hamdullah Mohib said that the Afghanistan government and International partners have a responsibility to hold the Taliban and their sponsors accountable.

National Security Advisor of Afghanistan Hamdullah Mohib tweeted, "The attacks of the last two months show us and the world that Taliban and their sponsors do not and did not intend to pursue peace. Their attacks this spring against Afghans are comparable to the level of fighting seasons. International partners have a responsibility to hold the Taliban and their sponsors accountable. The reason to pursue peace is to end this senseless violence. This is not peace, nor its beginnings."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack. Taliban has denied its involvement in both the attacks.

According to Indian security agencies, the Taliban will deny so that they are projected as a responsible organisation in line with the US Taliban agreement. ISI will use the name of ISKP or unknown outfits to claim the responsibility.

A statement said, "There can be no justification for such continued acts of terrorism. The perpetrators of such heinous acts and their sponsors and supporters should be held accountable and brought to justice. They should be forced to eradicate safe havens and sanctuaries that have abetted terrorism in the region for decades and caused immense miseries to an untold number of people in the region."

Earlier, Indian security agencies had expressed apprehension that after the withdrawal of US troops, Pakistan's agencies will carry out attacks on Indian embassies/consulates in Afghanistan.

 Zee News

Indian Army Lieutenant who punched Chinese Major on the Face at Sikkim Clash

A young, lean and lithe Indian Army Lieutenant delivered a hard punch to a burly Major of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday afternoon, sending him sprawling to the rocky and sandy ground at Naku La in Northern Sikkim.

The punch left the Major with a bloody nose, but it badly bruised the collective ego of the formidable PLA. Especially since it was delivered by a very young officer who was commissioned into the army barely a year ago.

According to a senior officer at the Army’s East Command headquarters in Kolkata’s Fort William, the young Lieutenant* was provoked into the act by the PLA Major’s loud claim that Sikkim belonged to China and that the Indian Army had ‘transgressed’ into Chinese territory.


This incident was the high point of the hours-long face-off and fist-fights between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Naku La, which is close to the Line Of Actual Control (LAC) in North Sikkim, on Saturday (May 9) morning. A few Indian and Chinese soldiers sustained injuries in the standoff that was ultimately resolved after senior officers of both the sides intervened.

It is learnt that the PLA Major was shouting and moving menacingly towards another young Indian Army officer of the rank of Captain. The young Lieutenant intervened and threw a punch at the Major, who went reeling and fell on the ground. Even his name tag came off. The young Lieutenant was in the mood for landing a few more punches, but his colleagues pulled him away.

He was later admonished by his seniors who told him that the humiliating punch could have provoked the Chinese more. But they also lauded him in private. Those who know the young Lieutenant would realise that he did what his father had done way back in 1986 at Sumdorong Chu in western Arunachal Pradesh.

His father, Colonel (retired) Ashish Das had, in the early winter of that year, also given the Chinese a bloody nose there. The Colonel, who was a young Captain then, had led a fierce attack on the Chinese who had transgressed into Indian territory and built permanent structures at Zemithang in Arunachal Pradesh.

That operation was part of the legendary ‘Operation Falcon’ masterminded by then Army Chief General Krishnaswamy Sundarji. The bravery of Das, who was commissioned into the Assam Regiment, led to the recapturing of a strategically important ridgetop, which was subsequently named after him as ‘Ashish Top’. Ashish Das’ father, Master Warrant Officer (MWO) B.B. Das, served in the Royal Air Force and then the Indian Air Force.

He was stationed in Lahore during World War I and also saw action in the Bangladesh War of 1971. He retired from a Signals unit in Barrackpur. There is an interesting story about how Colonel Das’ daughter, also an Army officer (in the Judge Advocate General Branch, which is the legal arm of the Army), discovered that the ridgetop in Arunachal Pradesh is named after her father.

As a young Lieutenant posted at Tenga (on the way to Tawang in western Arunachal Pradesh) in early 2018, she was on an initiation tour to forward posts. One such post she visited was ‘Ashish Top’. She wondered how the post got its name, and was told about the valour of a young captain by the name of Ashish Das who captured it from the Chinese.

She realised it was her father whose valour had been commemorated by naming the strategic feature after him. She broke down and the commanding officer of the unit manning the post called up Colonel Das at home in Kolkata’s Kalighat area. Incidentally, the retired Colonel’s son, a technical graduate from Bengaluru, was also commissioned into the Assam Regiment.

Colonel Das also served in the IPKF at Jaffna in Sri Lanka, and in the Poonch sector in Kashmir from 1988 to 1990 when terrorism had just started there. He retired from the army in 2009. The Das’ family home in Kolkata proudly displays many gallantry medals won by MWO Das and his son Colonel Ashish Das.

The young lieutenant grew up admiring those and fervently wishing to add to the proud collection. He may have just won one on Saturday. After all, it takes a lot of courage to punch a mightier adversary on his nose and send him sprawling to the ground.

  Swarajya