Daily Times

Sir: It is surprising to see that even India has succumbed to the rising influence of its military in foreign affairs, which has traditionally been under the civilian domain in the country. There was a time that Nehru and VP Menon abhorred the popularity of General Thimaya who took tanks to Zojila Pass (overseeing Srinagar-Leh road) to avert the fall of Srinagar to the mujahedeen.

Now a high-level Indian delegation, under the Eastern Army Commander of the Northern Army, is set to visit Beijing next month. The agenda includes the many differences shared between the two countries regarding the 3,488-km un-demarcated Sikkim Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Between 2 to 6 July, a ten member Chinese delegation, led by Lt General Liu Xiaowu, Deputy Commander of the Western Theatre Command, visited India and met with Indian Army Vice Chief Lt General Devraj Anbu, at New Delhi, during a visit to the 33 Corps (that handles Sikkim).

They discussed a range of topics that included the issues that stemmed from the military exchanges between India and China at various times in the past, the management of the large border between the two nations, as well as its management, and the improvements that could be made to its security apparatus in the future. Whether these developments lead to the same fate that Pakistan suffered through, so many times in its short history, remains to be seen. However the prospect of a military dictatorship taking control of India does not bode well for this region’s already unstable status quo.

AEIMEN MALIK

Lahore

Published in Daily Times, July 13^th 2018.