Image from The Economist
India Weighs Boosting Troop Strength Along Border With China -- Bloomberg
NEW DELHI — India, which had a military standoff with China high in the Himalayas in April, proposes to boost its troop strength near the two countries' disputed border, a buildup that may be delayed by funding constraints.
The plan for an additional strike force to be based in the province of West Bengal was confirmed by an official in the Ministry of Defense in New Delhi, who asked not to be named according to government policy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cleared the deployment of an additional 50,000 troops to the eastern region at a July 17 meeting of security ministers, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. The proposal may cost as much as 650 billion rupees ($10.9 billion), it said.
Bolstering operational capability, the Indian Air Force will deploy mid-air refueling tankers and Lockheed Martin- built C-130J Hercules aircraft at the corps headquarters at Panagarh in West Bengal, according to PTI.
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My Comment: India is trying to match China's military buildup in the region, and is having trouble doing it.
Chinese soldiers on horseback have
ReplyDeletereportedly crossed the border into
the Indian region of Chumar, where
there is a simmering border dispute.
The incursion is reported to have
occurred on July 16, involving some
50 mounted horsemen.
The soldiers are reported to have
staked a claim over the area and
remained in Chumar until the
following morning, when they
returned to Chinese territory.
Tensions have risen in the area
recently, following an alleged
incursion into Chinese airspace by
two Indian helicopters on July 11.
A month earlier, Chinese troops had
entered the region and removed an
Indian surveillance camera.
India recently gave the nod to
establishing a 50,000-strong
mountain corps along its border with
China.