The manner in which China has brought in its troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) indicates that its aim is more than just to probe and test the waters with India," said former RAW Additional Secretary Jayadeva Ranade on Wednesday.
"It is either a prelude to something else or preparation for some action that they are going to take," said Jayadeva Ranade, who studied the Chinese army for years during his service.
Elaborating upon his observation of the ongoing Sino-India crisis over the LAC in Ladakh, Ranade told India Today TV that by doing what China has already done, it has put India under sustained military pressure.
"By shifting the areas of confrontation along the LAC they will stretch our troops (deployment) and will tire them out before doing something somewhere else," he said.
Ranade was one of the panellists at the evening Newstrack show hosted by India Today TV's News Director Rahul Kanwal.
"I have also noticed activities in the Rudok county which is just across the Chumar and the Galwan Valley and Demchok. Senior Chinese officials had come to Pangong Tso and alerted the officials there to be prepared for a long-term development plan. The entire public administration apparatus of the Rudok county has undergone a three-stage training in armed combat. Besides this, telecommunication links between Tibetan there and Tibetans outside have been cut," Ranade claimed.
He said all these developments should put India on high alert given the fact that this comes at a time when there are talks of disengagement with China.
"While we are talking to the Chinese, we should not be the first one to withdraw," Ranade said.
Speaking in a similar vein, defence expert Col (retd) Ajai Shukla, said it is unlikely that a country like China that has so much heft and weight in the international arena will attack India, another country with substantial heft and weight, just to test its neighbour's military might.
"That (probing and posturing) is done during war games. This isn't done by actually attacking a country and risking a full-blown war," Col Shukla said.
"The Chinese tend to weigh in and lay down their plans and objectives in advance before taking any step. At present, China has already crossed the LAC in Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso lake area," he claimed.
Meanwhile, disagreeing with Ranade and Col Shukla, Lt Gen (retd) Rakesh Sharma, who served in the area in conflict at present, said the size of the Chinese mobilisation along the LAC at present does not indicate that they actually have any objective to intrude.
"China seems to be testing waters at the moment. If they want something greater, the mobilisation on the Chinese side would be much greater," he said.
Agreeing with his assessment, Lt Gen (retd) Sanjay Kulkarni, former DG Infantry, said while the Chinese are testing waters with provocation, they can't be trusted anymore.
"Chinese deployment is not very large. It is just big enough to poke us. China has opened its cards and now is the time to be prepared on all fronts. It (China) is in all-out attempt to ensure that it humiliates India. In Galwan, it did what it did but it got back too. This has hit its reputation badly," Lt Gen Kulkarni said.
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