The Indian Army recently decided to withdraw its counter-insurgency and internal security forces from the northeast and is preparing to redeploy 10,000 troops by the end of the year to focus on the Chinese threat along the border.
Indian media have recently been citing satellite images showing that China is building villages and settling the actual border near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India in the disputed province of Arunachal Pradesh (known in China as Tibetan South), and India is concerned that China may be trying to encroach on the disputed territory in this way.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reiterated at a regular press conference yesterday that China’s position on the eastern section of the Sino-Indian border, also known as Tibetan South, has been consistent and that China does not recognize the illegal establishment of Arunachal Province on Chinese territory, and that China’s “normal construction activities on its own territory are entirely within its sovereignty”.
In addition to the unresolved standoff between Chinese troops and Indian troops in eastern Ladakh on the western section of the Sino-Indian border in early May last year, Indian media previously reported that China has continued to reinforce its deployment along the Line of Actual Control between India and China from Sikkim to Arunachal Province, and India has followed suit by strengthening its infrastructure along these borders.
The Hindustan Times reported today that the Indian Army is also preparing to reinforce its military deployment along the eastern section of the Sino-Indian border.
Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Dec. 12 that the army is reducing its mission in the northeast and instead intensifying its focus on external threats.
India’s northeastern provinces have long been infested by armed Maoist insurgent groups, so the Army’s military presence there used to be primarily tasked with counterinsurgency and maintaining domestic security.
However, following the increased threat from China, the Army’s military strength in the northeast has gradually shifted. A source familiar with the matter said that 3,000 soldiers responsible for counter-insurgency and internal security missions have now been withdrawn from the northeast, and another 7,000 are expected to be withdrawn from those missions by the end of the year.
In addition, the Indian Army also plans to redeploy 10,000 soldiers to the eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control between India and China by the end of this year in response to the Chinese border threat.
Experts believe that this move will help the troops focus on the border and routinely conduct training.
D.S. Hooda, a retired Indian lieutenant general and former commander of the Northern Corps, said the planned withdrawal of troops from the northeast to quell the insurgency is a good step because the security situation in the northeast is now fully under control and can be secured by local police and the Central Armed Police, allowing Army Eastern Command troops to focus on their role at the border.
Under India’s intensified crackdown on insurgents in the Northeast, a large number of insurgents have surrendered to Indian security forces last year; according to official statistics, insurgent arrests increased by 40 percent last year compared to 2018, violence decreased by 60 percent, and contraband seized increased by 140 percent, putting a damper on insurgent funding.
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