India Wants to Match China’s Mountain Tank

The Indian Army's previous attempt didn't go well
By Robert Beckhusen

India’s DRDO light tank

The Indian Army is in the early planning stages for a new light tank capable of traversing the rugged conditions of India’s mountainous northern borders. *

A directive from the Army setting requirements for the machine comes soon after China tested its own mountain tank in Tibet.
India and China have long-running border disputes at Aksai Chin in India’s northwest and Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast. 

In June 2017, a standoff ensued at Doklam, near Bhutan, when Chinese troops with construction machinery moved into a disputed territory to extend a road. 

Indian troops arrived and both sides faced off, and both withdrew in late August.
One mutual disadvantage India and China face is a paucity of railroads heading toward the frontier, although China has a terminal as far southwards as Lhasa, Tibet, some 180 miles away from Doklam. Freight trains vastly simplify the logistics of moving tanks and their supporting vehicles. 

Both countries are trying to fast-track rail construction closer to their borders — but share no direct rail connections between them.
In any case, main battle tanks perform poorly in mountains, which limit their room to maneuver and restrict their angles of fire, strain their engines on steep inclines while further burdening a tank army’s demanding logistical backbone.
At the same time, mountains give more places for infantry to hide from tanks, isolating them — generally speaking, tanks are at their most effective when employed en masse in open country — and then striking at weak points in their armor from above.
India’s border disputes. 

To be sure, India has a sizable tank army with more than 1,600 T-90s and 2,400 T-72s, plus 118 — and rising — domestically-designed Arjuns. 

While India would love to have the ability to send these in huge numbers to its northern borders, their military utility is limited compared to rapidly-deployable lighter tanks.
India has developed a light “tank” for mountain fighting before. 

In the 1980s, India’s defense research agency produced the DRDO, which combined the chassis from a BMP infantry fighting vehicle with a French GIAT TS-90 turret equipped with a 105-millimeter gun.
The machine’s trials continued into the 1990s, but it never entered into service.

Above — China’s ZTQ light tank. 

India wants its new light tank to weigh around 22 tons — slightly heavier than the U.S. Army’s Stryker’s Mobile Gun System variant which has a 105-millimeter cannon. 

This means New Delhi’s future tank should be light enough to lift inside the Indian Air Force’s Il-76MD, C-17 and C-130J transport planes. 

It’ll probably be too heavy to air-drop with a parachute, however.
The Indian Army also wants its new tanks to operate at 3,000 meters above sea level and engage targets from 2,000 meters away with a main gun and anti-tank missiles, according to Defense News.
China is ahead of India here. 

The former’s 35-ton ZTQ light tank — or Xinqingtan — showed up for testing in Tibet in June 2017 and first appeared all the way back in 2010. 

This machine packs an autoloading 105-millimeter gun, a 35-millimeter grenade launcher and a 12.7-millimeter gun. 

China reportedly wants to field as many as 300 ZTQs. 

The design appears to be a smaller version of the MBT3000, a Chinese-made tank derived from the T-90.
Which is to demonstrate that China takes its mountain-fighting needs seriously. 

The ZTQ might be underpowered everywhere else, but it gives Beijing added punch in a potential, future border war on its periphery — which may be the most likely conflict China will face. 

No wonder India is trying to catch up.

Doklam standoff: Indian Army prepares to beat back more Chinese incursions

With China getting more aggressive with its salami slicing policy in the Himalayas, the Indian Army must prepare for what General Bipin Rawat described as more Doklam-like incidents.

• Indian and Chinese troops are in standoff at Doklam for over two months.
• China keeps transgressing into Indian territories in three pockets of borders.
• Bipin Rawat warned of more Doklam-like incidents in future.

By Prabhash K Dutta

Delivering the General BC Joshi Memorial Lecture in Pune yesterday, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat warned that standoffs with China like that at Doklam are likely to "increase in future".
"The recent stand-off in the Doklam plateau by the Chinese side attempting to change the status quo are issues which we need to be wary about, and I think such kind of incidents are likely to increase in the future," General Bipin Rawat said.
Indian and Chinese troops are in eyeball encounter at Doklam plateau of Bhutan for over two months. Standoff began when Indian troops, after formal request by the Royal Army of Bhutan, stopped the People's Liberation Army of China from constructing a highway through Doklam area.
Doklam plateau is governed by Bhutan and has long been inhabited by the Bhutanese shepherds. China has been eyeing this piece of hilly terrain because of strategic significance.
Doklam lies very close to the Silliguri Corridor that connects the northeastern states of India with rest of the country.
It is the sole passage for supply of materials and transport to and from the northeastern states.

CHINA'S SALAMI SLICING IN HIMALAYAS
General Bipin Rawat has underlined what many geostrategic experts have been saying for long. China is the only country post-World War II that has been engaged in territorial expansion by poaching lands and maritime areas of its neighbours.
This Chinese policy is widely known as Salami Slicing through which it cuts into the territories of its neighbours and then stakes claim over the same.
Furthering the Salami Slicing policy China has captured the entire Tibetan kingdom in 1949 forcing the Buddhist government of the plateau state flee to India and seek asylum.
The Dalai Lama has headed the Tibetan government in-exile since 1950s with its headquarters at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.
Later, India recognised Tibet as part of China.
China captured Aksai Chin area in Ladakh of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1962 war with India and has illegally governed it since then.
Aksai Chin is roughly of the size of Switzerland in area.
China also forced Pakistan to cede almost 6,000 sq km area north of Karakoram mountain ranges in Pakistan-occupied parts of Jammu and Kashmir state.

CHINESE BORDER POLICY WITH INDIA
Apart from Aksai Chin and the area in northern Kashmir, China stakes claim on Indian territories in two more pockets.
It claims Arunachal Pradesh to be its own territory calling it South Tibet and several patches along international borders falling in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
The borders between India and China are not properly demarcated and the demarcation done during the British colonial regime is contested by Beijing as per its suitability.
During his lecture on India's Challenges in the Current Geo-Strategic Construct at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies of Savitribai Phule Pune University in Pune, General Bipin Rawat said, "Pockets of dispute and contested claims to the territory continue to exist. These are due to differing perceptions on the alignments of the Line of Actual Control (LAC)."
"Transgressions across Line of Actual Control do happen and sometimes they do lead to some kind of misunderstanding between the forward troops," General Rawat said, adding, "However, we do have joint mechanisms in place to address such situations."
But, Chinese Salami Slicing policy stands in the way of resolving issues.
Even in the case of Doklam standoff, it has been reported that during all flag meetings with Chinese counterparts, the Indian Army has insisted on restoring pre-June 16 positions of the troops.
But, no resolution has been found yet.

DOKLAM AS SALAMI SLICE
The Doklam standoff is a classical example of Chinese border policy with India.
Chinese policy towards Indian borders has three well defined contours.
China invests heavily to strengthen its infrastructure in the regions where it is in stronger position.
It pursues Salami Slicing policy more aggressively where both troops are on equal footing strategically while China needles India where Indian Army is in stronger position to test water.
At Doklam plateau, Indian Army has been patrolling for decades while Chinese troops used to visit there occasionally and never stayed for long.
As it is a disputed area between China and Bhutan, and is very close to the Indian borders, PLA attempted to alter status quo.

WHY THERE MAY BE MORE DOKLAMS
China has invested in its defence forces and infrastructure more than any other Asian country over past several decades.
Even General Bipin Rawat underlined that the PLA has made significant progress in enhancing its "capabilities for mobilisation, application and sustenance of operations" particularly in the Tibet.
Xi Jinping has overhauled the entire military structure and divided the PLA commands in more reasonable units.
Their force reorganisation along with developing capabilities in space and network-centric warfare is likely to provide them greater synergy in force application," General Rawat noted in his speech.
China is also working on other aspects of geostrategy vis-a-vis India.
China is increasing its military and economic partnership with Pakistan and has also been trying to win over Maldives, Sri Lanka and even Bangladesh in India's neighbourhood.
On the other hand, while Doklam standoff continues, China has not yet confirmed about the annual joint military exercises with India.
India and China conduct joint exercise every year on reciprocal basis.
Named "Hand-in-Hand", Indian team goes to China one year followed a visit by Chinese troops next year.
Responding to a question whether Doklam standoff is affecting India-China annual military exercise, General Bipin Rawat said, "It could be, but we are not sure."
The ground realities leave no doubt that China's approach towards India is adversarial than friendly and General Bipin Rawat seems to have delivered the right message by saying, "It is always better to be prepared and alert than think that this will not happen again. So my message to troops is that do not let your guard down."

The Necessary War

Indian army asks villagers to move from Sikkim border
Express News Service

NEW DELHI -- As the tension at the border with China continues in Sikkim, Indian army has asked district administration to evacuate local villagers close to the faceoff site. 

Though sources in the army calling the move as ‘precautionary’ but it is also seen as army’s preparation to take on any eventuality.
Sources said over 100 local residents of Nathang village, which is close to the Doklam, the tri-junction between India-Bhutan-China, have been asked to vacate and to move to safer locations, in order to avoid any civilian casualties if situation escalates to a short war or may be a skirmish. 

The Nathang village is located 35 km away from Doklam in Sikkim sector.
Moreover, Army has also issued an Operational Alert for its formations guarding the area. 

Sukma based 33 Corps, which looks after Sikkim has advanced its annual training exercise, which including stocking of ration for winter, familiarising troops to the new area by acclimatization at higher altitude. 

However, the Indian Army has called the troop movement in the area a regular maintenance move.
China has been sending warning signals to India along with consolidating its presence close to the faceoff site. 

In fact on Wednesday, China Daily warned that ‘the countdown to a clash between the two forces has begun’.
China has been insisting that India withdraws its troops from Doklam where both sides have been locked in a nearly two-month stand-off. 

On the other hand, the New Delhi is for a simultaneous withdrawal from Doklam, which, it says, belongs to its other neighbour Bhutan.
State run Global Times, by quoting the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said that at nearly ’53 people and a bulldozer from the Indian side remain in Chinese territory as of Monday’. 

The ministry said: “India should withdraw its troops and equipment. Regardless of how many Indian troops have trespassed into and stayed in Chinese territory, they have gravely infringed on China’s sovereignty.”
India has been maintaining to solve the issue diplomatically. 

War is not a solution and India would resolve the standoff with China through dialogue, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said in Parliament last week. 

But China has not budged from its stand that India must unilaterally withdraw its troops from Doklam.