Ladakh/ New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unannounced visit to a forward post in Ladakh this morning and interacted with troops days after the June 15 border clash with China in which 20 soldiers were killed in the line of duty.
The Prime Minister’s visit served as a morale booster for the forces and a powerful message to China, which has shown unrelenting aggression at the border with incursions spotted in satellite images. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief M.M. Naravane accompanied the PM as he toured the region and met with soldiers.
PM Modi sat in a camouflage tent as he spoke to the troops seated at a distance from each other against the backdrop of the Himalayas. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, he was at a forward location in Nimu. He reached there early in the morning by chopper from Leh and will return later today.
“Interacting with our brave armed forces personnel at Nimu,” the PM posted, sharing a photo on his Instagram account. The PM picked a place where a large number of soldiers could assemble safely. Located at 11,000 feet, the region is among the world’s toughest terrains, surrounded by the Zanskar range and located on the banks of the river Indus.
Personnel of the Army, Air Force and ITBP were present for the interaction. PM Modi also visited a hospital where several soldiers wounded in the clash are recovering. After weeks of simmering tension at the Line of Actual Control or the de-facto border with China, 20 soldiers including a Colonel were killed in action in the June 15 brawl with Chinese troops at the Galwan river valley. Army sources say the Chinese suffered 45 casualties.
!4 days after China intruded and took away Indian territories: Satellite images in the world clearly show this, as well as neutral commentators outside India, say this, Modi not visiting one single dead soldier’s family , but visits Leh. He thunders that India is getting modern technology around the world to defeat the Chinese.
Let us examine just 2 of these modern technologies for the military:
1.Rafale jet fighters and missiles for them from France: This technology is over 10 year old , as these are NOT stealth fighters. US has not given F-35 jet fighters which are modern fighters, Russia has not given SU-37 and MIG 35 fighters which are modern too, China has the latest J-20 stealth fighter squadron.
Trump has given F-35 fighters and stealth missiles to Australia, more than a match for the S-400 India requested Russia, which will take time.
Putin has offered SU-37 and MIG-35 fighters to Turkey, which he has not given to India. India has old SU-30 and MIG-29 fighters.
2. Cyber security: China has the formidable Cyber warfare potential. Australia was rattled recently, when China unleashed this to Australia.
Trump and his secretary of state simply saying things about China-India clash. the latter to satisfy Modi. Trump has blocked all work visas, and holders who are visiting India, thus separating the families.
Meanwhile,still China has substantial manufacturing orders; complex machinery, pharmaceutical materials even to manufacture Paracetamol in
India. Modi boasting Digital India , had Chinese apps too for his cell phone until recently.
India opted for cheap IT work outsourced from the Western world: many IT companies became very big in India, and their founders unbelievably rich. Now, one of the 10 richest persons in the world, Ambani, who it seems has some interests in the purchase of Rafale jet fighters, France said, wants to expand his manufacturing base. Will take years.
The IT companies which do cheap labour for Western companies like Google and Manufacture, cannot be manufacturing companies. China , hence was allowed to capture the supply of much needed manufactured products,
This is really a good gesture! and a great Morale booster!Very clearly showing to the world where India stands!!
@Raj – Bhakths should tell their PM to do some real work instead of wasting money from PM care fund on Helicopter rides and excursions to hill stations! Media is celebrating as though India won a battle! Just some Photo ops! Manmohan Singh too was the PM for 2 terms! Country was peaceful and prosperous! Everything was predictable! China never troubled us! Pak, if they misbehaved we always brought it the international attention! We had friends them. Now India is on its own! Isolated!
Murthy
Hope you safeguard yourself for telling the truth, about Modi, who so far not addressed the China-India clash, by coming out like other Western leaders o do and subject himself to questioning. Dr Singh was an erudite economist and an honest PM, like Narasimha Rao. The problem with the Congress which Modi knows is weak is the 2 Gandhis, the 2 wastrels, Every democracy needs a strong opposition, Australia, UK, USA, Germany ,m France have this opposition. India needs to get a new leader like Tharoor, displacing the Gandhis, and then Modi cannot escape what he is doing now.
I knew RSS, and JanSangh from their days in 1950s: pure and simple thugs. Vajpayee took Nehru to task for being friendly with Zhou En Lai, and yet lost the territory. To be fair to Nehru, he had his failures, He was not that kind of close friend, that Modi claimed about Xi Jinping, since his days as the CM of Gujarat. Interesting that so called friends: Xi Jinping and Trump have not helped him. If a war takes place, US cannot enter as it has unlike Australia and NATO countries, no, US Congress-approved military pact with India. Russia will never support India , against China.
Hence, instead of this BS that Modi is dishing out, through Photo Ops like his selfies with Zuckerberg(!), he should sit with Putin and Xi Jinping and negotiate to get the territories back. Talking about war and winning is totally crap, as China is mighty, and soon occupy Arunachal Pradesh-it calls it South Tibet. Modi should negotiate with Xi Jinping sitting with Putin, telling Putin to do this for him, and do it with himself.
India cannot take on China. India has to live peacefully with Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and not let them into China camp.