Since independence, India has always been wary of the military, worried about military coups and military interference in politics. India’s military and political system has indeed prevented military interference in politics, but it has also caused a lack of experts familiar with national defense affairs among Indian civilians for a long time. The Indian civilian tradition of non-interference in the internal affairs of the military further reinforces the problem.
Clashes on the actual control line between China and India
Recently , according to the “Hindu” report, on December 9, in the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh” area (Southern Tibet-Tawang in China), the People’s Liberation Army and the Indian Army clashed , both sides were injured. At least 20 Indian soldiers were injured, and some Indian soldiers were even beaten to fractures. The so-called “Arunachal Pradesh” is the Chinese territory illegally occupied by India. It is located in the eastern section of the Sino-Indian border. We call it the southern Tibet region.
India’s “Print” reported that the specific location of the conflict was on the so-called Line of Actual Control unilaterally identified by India, and 250 to 300 Chinese soldiers participated. They carried barbed sticks, metal gloves, and Taser guns ). At first, about 50 Indian soldiers clashed with Chinese soldiers. The two sides threw stones at each other, and then escalated to a contest with cold weapons such as sticks.
Indian army sources said that soldiers from at least two different units on the Indian side participated in the conflict. The troops of the Indian army near the actual control line mainly perform patrol tasks, and have formed several rapid response teams to form a “number advantage” against the PLA when needed. At the same time, the Indian Army has also arranged a reserve force on the so-called “second deployment line” after the actual control line. This is a new deployment since the Galwan Valley conflict in 2020.
On December 7, Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar reiterated in the Indian Parliament that he would not tolerate the so-called “China’s unilateral attempt to change the actual line of control.” And not long ago, the US and Indian armies conducted a military exercise code-named “Preparation for War” at a place more than 100 kilometers away from the Sino-Indian border line. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China expressed reasonable concerns to the Indian side. Taking these factors into consideration, it cannot be ruled out that this conflict was premeditated by the US and India, and its purpose was to test China’s response.
Judging from the results of the previous conflict in the Galwan Valley, the Indian army was basically not our army’s opponent in the border cold weapon conflict, and the number of casualties was significantly higher than that of our army. Therefore, even if someone is injured in our border guards this time, the number must be smaller than that of the Indian army. After the conflict in the Galwan Valley, the cold weapon combat equipment of our army’s border guards has been further strengthened. Not only has the “Big Sword Squad” appeared near the Sino-Indian border many times, but the officers and soldiers of our army’s border guards are generally equipped with explosion-proof suits, which are fully sufficient to deal with the cold weapon provocations launched by the Indian army.
Why is India making troubles at the border again
Why is India making troubles at the border again? In fact, it is very simple. It is to express its attitude to the United States and the West: India will not rely on China and Russia. This starts with India’s recent receipt of a large order from Russia and India’s attitude towards the purchase of Russian oil.
Reuters quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Russia sent a list of more than 500 products to India to provide needed raw materials and parts for domestic companies. According to reports, this is because Western sanctions have blocked the supply of some key Russian products, so Russia sent a list of required items to other countries, including India, and the Indian government, out of consideration for balancing trade balance, We are very willing to use this method to promote exports to Russia. According to Reuters, Russia’s airlines are experiencing a severe shortage of parts. At the same time, as global automakers have withdrawn from the Russian market, Russia’s demand for auto parts is also strong.
Russia’s big orders to India are mainly to balance Russia-India trade. Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted, India has run a growing trade deficit as purchases of Russian oil, coal and fertilizers have soared. From February 24 to November 20, 2022, India’s imports from Russia nearly quintupled to $29 billion. Meanwhile, India’s exports to Russia fell from $2.4 billion to $1.9 billion.
India not only received large orders from Russia, but also continued to buy Russian oil to make a difference. On December 5 local time, German Foreign Minister Berberk visited India. One of the purposes of her trip was to persuade India to join the ranks of the West in capping Russian oil prices. However, after the meeting with Bell Burke, Jaishankar said that out of consideration for its own energy needs, India will continue to buy oil from Russia. Jaishankar also reminded that Europe actually imports far more energy from Russia than India. Moreover, the Russian oil purchased by India at a low price is not mainly to meet its own needs, but is processed and sold to Europe at a high price to earn the difference.
However, can the United States and the West be happy about this kind of thing that is beneficial to both India and Russia? Of course not happy. And India does not want to lose the opportunity for the United States and the West to contain China’s transfer of industries to India. What should we do in the face of this dilemma? Just express your indifference to China and Russia, and just balance it out.
Why the Indian government can’t control the military Since independence,
India has always been wary of the military, worried about military coups and military interference in politics. For a long time, Indian senior civilian officials believed that the appointment of the chief of defense staff would make military power too concentrated in the hands of a senior officer, which would increase the risk of a military coup, so many measures were taken to strengthen control over the army: the Indian government and The parliament has the power to formulate the military budget to limit the excessive expansion of military expenditure; the chiefs of staff of each service are in office for a short period of time to prevent a certain officer from holding a military post for a long time. The short tenure of the chiefs of staff of various services has objectively caused senior generals with reform aspirations not to have enough time to promote military reform.
In order to further limit the power of the military, in September 1946, when India was not officially independent, Nehru, who served as the prime minister of the transitional government of India, decided that the commanders of the various services would no longer serve as cabinet members, and the civilian defense ministers would replace the commanders of the various services as cabinet members. After formally becoming independent, India further carried out structural reforms to the Ministry of Defense, setting up land, navy and air force commands under the Ministry of Defense. In 1955, India abolished the post of Commander of Army, Navy and Air Force and set up a new post of Chief of Staff of Army, Navy and Air Force. As a result, the power of the Indian Minister of Defense as a civilian official has been greatly strengthened. At the same time, the chiefs of staff of the various services are essentially playing a dual role. To be in charge of military affairs. The original military-political relationship with clear responsibilities between civil servants and the military has been changed.
India’s military and political system has indeed prevented military interference in politics, but it has also caused a lack of experts familiar with national defense affairs among Indian civilians for a long time. The Indian civilian tradition of non-interference in the internal affairs of the military further reinforces the problem. Indian civilian officials did not take the initiative to coordinate the contradictions among the various services, nor did they prevent the independent development of military organizations. It is difficult for civilian officials such as the Indian Minister of Defense to give clear answers to cross-service issues and conflicts between various services from the perspective of military expertise. solutions and formulate professional defense development plans.
On the other hand, India’s professional soldiers do not participate in the formulation of national policy. Once the government makes a decision, the army can only implement it. Therefore, the Indian army sometimes proposes some military solutions without understanding the government’s decision-making. For example, during the military confrontation with Pakistan in 2001 and 2002, although India issued a military mobilization order, the Indian government did not ask the military for its opinions in detail beforehand, nor did it clarify what policy goals India hopes to achieve through military mobilization . The Indian army does not know under what circumstances the government will launch a war against Pakistan. The Indian Army is essentially executing military mobilization orders without a clear political objective.
Now, India is not only aware of the serious lag in its own military reform, but also understands the urgency of deepening military reform. Facing the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the economic downturn, whether the Indian army can complete the scheduled military reform goals according to the original plan still needs further observation.
