Questions are being raised over a US media report making a dramatic claim that the US helped India to thwart a planned Chinese PLA incursion into Arunachal Pradesh late last year by providing real-time data and intelligence.
A security establishment source familiar with the development in Arunachal Pradesh told THE WEEK: “I don’t know what information came in from the US agencies. India already has access to very accurate and high-resolution pictures and images taken by satellites that can observe everything in clear detail including the direction of movement, number of troops, even the equipment they carry.”
“Moreover, we also buy information and imagery from open sources that are provided real-time. I don’t think we need more inputs to observe the adversaries.”
India-US bilateral ties are getting stronger by the day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to undertake an official visit to the US in June 2023.
The US media report on Monday in US News quoted a source familiar with a US intelligence review of an encounter in Arunachal Pradesh as saying that “the US government for the first time provided real-time details to its Indian counterparts of the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion.”
“The information included actionable satellite imagery and was more detailed and delivered more quickly than anything the US had previously shared with the Indian military.”
On December 9, about 80 PLA troops were seen advancing towards a 5,180-metre-high land feature peak before being obstructed by a much larger Indian Army contingent that repulsed the incursion.
The incident took place at Yangste, near a disputed stretch in the Tawang Sector of Arunachal Pradesh, a week after the conclusion of a India-US joint military exercise at Uttarakhand’s Auli from November 17-December 2, just about 100 km away from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The December 9 incident led to "minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides".
There was another twist to the news development with John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, telling reporters: “No, I can't confirm that.”
India is locked in a border stand-off with China that has escalated especially after June 2020 when several lives were lost in a brutal and violent clash in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh between the two Asian neighbours.
Interestingly, on February 16, a bipartisan resolution was introduced in the US Senate endorsing recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India.
“The United States recognises the state of Arunachal Pradesh not as a disputed territory but as an integral part of the Republic of India, and this recognition is not qualified in any way,” says the resolution introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, and Bill Hagerty, a Republican.
China claims territorial suzerainty over most parts of Arunachal Pradesh and as a part of “Southern Tibet”.