BLOG
June 20th, 2020
Via Times Now News, a report that China may have blocked the Galwan River as part of its military tactics against India in the recent days:
China declined to answer queries on reports of building a dam on the Galwan river to block the river flow at the Sino-Indian border.
This comes after satellite imagery revealed that China had brought in hundreds of soldiers and heavy construction equipment in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley with several reports pointing out that the PLA was building the dam on the river to block its flow.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during his media also refused to answer questions for a second consecutive day about the casualties suffered by the Chinese troops in their clash with the Indian soldiers at the Galwan Valley on Monday night.
Satellite imagery shows the presence of fresh troops and heavy construction equipment
According to HawkEye 360, new satellite images show the presence of many trucks used to ferry troops along with heavy construction equipment and tents for the PLA soldiers whoa are deployed in the forward areas.
While both sides are holding talks to de-escalate the situation it seems that China is not willing to disengage to defuse the situation.
Indian Army Colonel Santosh Babu and other Indian soldiers were ambushed and brutally attacked with iron rods and spikes by Chinese soldiers.
A total of 20 Indian Army personnel were martyred in the violent face-off after the Chinese troops tried to change the status quo during de-escalation in eastern Ladakh unilaterally.
While the world is preoccupied with COVID-19, China has started flexing its muscles not only in the Himalayas but in the South China Sea as well.
Beijing’s salami-slicing tactics was on full display when it claimed sovereignty over the entire Galwan Valley which New Delhi trashed calling it “exaggerated” and “untenable”.
Sun Tzu and China’s water wars
Centuries ago, Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said: “Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards.”
In his Art of War, Sun Tzu says that the shape of an army resembles water.
Beijing has been using its dams built over major river systems as a tool to inflict damage on nations it has disputes with. During the Doklam crisis and after the flooding in Assam and Uttar Pradesh, China had refused to release hydrological data on its upstream infrastructure operations.
In 2016, Vietnam had to plead with China to release water from the Yunnan dam into the Mekong River. While China complied allowing the water to flow through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam it showed the leverage China had over the Southeast Asian nations.