Honourable army doesn't fight with stones, batons, spikes: former Indian Army Commander slams China
New Delhi: Criticising the Chinese Army over the manner in which they attacked their Indian counterpart with batons and spikes during the violent standoff in Ladakh, former Ladakh Corps Commander Lieutenant General Rakesh Sharma said mature nations with professional armies do not act this way.
"Fighting with dandas, batons and spikes is going back to medieval warfare. Mature nations with professional armies do not act this way," former Ladakh Corps Commander Lieutenant General Rakesh Sharma (retd) told Rediff.com.
He said Line of Actual Control was once peaceful but things have changed now.
" The level has escalated several notches higher in the past month. What happened on June 15 is one more escalation in the new normal," he told the website.
He said the Chinese Army showed they were equally 'crude' like the Pakistan Army.
"One had thought the PLA was a professional army and not crude like the Pakistan army, but the Chinese have showed themselves to be as brutal and crude as the Pakistanis," he said.
"I agree that this is not how mature armies behave. I am not even sure if these troops were PLA or border guards or some paramilitary force. Though the border guards operate under the PLA," the former top Army official said.
"Throwing stones, using baton, spikes, knuckle-dusters doesn't speak well of an honourable army.I am ashamed that we are dealing with such adversaries," he said.
He said: "We don't want war, but if war is thrust upon us, so be it. But it surely shouldn't be with knuckle-dusters and spikes."
Meanwhile,though the Indian Army had said that there were no soldiers missing in action post the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, sources have said that the 10 soldiers who were held captive by China’s PLA were released after over 6-hour long military meeting.
Ten soldiers, including a Major and Captain-rank officers, who were held captive came and joined the duty.
The military meeting between India and China at Major-General-level was held for three consecutive days, sources added.
On Thursday, Indian Army spokesperson said, "It is clarified that no Indian troops are missing in action."
He also said that the statement was in reference to the article, “In China-India Clash, Two Nationalist Leaders with Little Room to Give”, published by the New York Times on Wednesday.
The sources in the Army on Friday said that no soldier was in a critical state and all of them will be back on duty in two weeks.
More than four decades after the last fatality occurred during a conflict at the India-China border, at least 20 Indian personnel were killed in the conflict with the Chinese military at the Galwan Valley, which is close to Aksai Chin, an area that is controlled by China but claimed by both the countries, in eastern Ladakh on Jun 15 night.
The Chinese soldiers came with iron rods and bamboo with nails and encircled Indian soldiers who fought valiantly leading to martyrdom of 20 personnel on the Indian side and heavy casualty on the Chinese side, sources confirmed IBNS on the clash in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.
A fierce hand-to-hand fighting raged on ground zero and the death toll could be more than 20 as many are seriously injured.
According to IBNS sources, the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) attacked Indian soldiers, including officers, JCOs. There was no firing in the battle.
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