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Tribune, 20-07-2017
Posted at: Jul 20, 2017, 1:31 AM; last updated: Jul 20, 2017, 1:31 AM (IST)
Report: Beijing moves ‘huge military hardware’ into Tibet
Simran Sodhi
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 19
China has moved tonnes of military hardware into regions of Tibet, close to the point of the Doklam standoff, according to reports put out by the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Army today.
While sources in the Indian establishment were quick to shoot down these reports, their veracity remains a matter of debate.
According to the PLA Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese military, China has moved vast amounts of military equipment to a region south of the Kunlun Mountains in northern Tibet by the Western Theatre Command, which oversees the restive regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, and handles border issues with India.
The report ups the ante on the India-China standoff. The state-run Chinese media has been regularly running articles warning India of the dire consequences of this ‘illegal trespass’.
The PLA report added that the move took place late last month and involved hardware being moved simultaneously by road and rail from across the entire region.
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will be travelling to Beijing next week to attend a BRICS meet. Sources said this would present an opportunity for India to take up the matter with China to discuss steps for de-escalation. Sources also point out that it is difficult to read the Chinese mind and how Doval’s visit pans out will be carefully watched.
The India-China standoff in Doklam is nearly a month old now with both sides refusing to step down from their stated positions. China has asked India to withdraw its troops from the area as a pre-condition for any ‘meaningful dialogue’ to begin. India, however, has run a more cautious line and has argued that this is a situation which calls for dialogue and that ‘differences should not be allowed to become disputes’.
China ready to attack India, says Mulayam
· Former Defence Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav (pic) on Wednesday cautioned the government against China’s ‘ill-designs’
· Expressing concern at the successive Central governments not addressing threats from China, he said it was India's responsibility to provide security to Sikkim and Bhutan
· “China has made preparations for a war with India. It has subjugated Pakistan and gobbled parts of Kashmir in collusion with it… The government should verify and act on a report I have received that China has stockpiled atom bombs underground in Pakistan to be used against India,” he said in the Lok Sabha tns
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