'Chinese are in the game of ambitions'

'China is playing the big global game. Their ambitions lie far beyond the Line of Actual Control.'

'The Indian border is a territorial boundary that China wants to put to rest so that it can move ahead towards larger goals.'

"The Chinese are masters in grey zone warfare and are colluding with the Pakistanis," says Lieutenant General Rakesh Sharma (retd), former commander of the Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps.

The Fire and Fury Corps guards the border in Kargil, Siachen and Eastern Ladakh, which includes both the Pakistan and China frontiers.

"The Line of Actual Control is important and we have to be vigilant, but there are many other non-military operations in the 'grey zone' that the Chinese can undertake to create situations which are in their favour," General Sharma tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in the second part of an incisive interview.

• Part 1 of the Interview: 'We cannot allow China to swallow our territory'

What is the Chinese end plan? Is the intention to keep India perpetually on the defensive all along the LAC, commit men and resources at huge expense? And how can they sustain this?

The People's Liberation Army does not practice the turnover system like the Indian armed forces [Indian troops are posted out periodically and replaced by a fresh batch of soldiers]. This is not part of the Chinese culture.

The Chinese troops located in the Tibetan Plateau in Xinjiang are conscripts who serve for two years and go back. Therefore, it matters little to them.

Till the time there is evidence that the Chinese have changed the mind, it must be taken that they will stay there permanently and forever.

We have to plan accordingly.

They have built garrisons with solar panels and heating arrangements in areas where previously there used to be just two men and a dog.

The G 695 highway, which will pass through Aksai Chin [and aims to connect Tibet to Xinjiang], is one of the most important military roads ever being created. So accordingly, the evidence, as it suggests today, is that the border will continue to tense in this form.

But the silver lining is that the discussions between the two sides continue to take place at the brigade, division and corps levels. The channels of communication are open, yet that does not imply that we can ease our vigilance.

Do you see a way out of the impasse? Or is this going to be the new status quo? How long is this going to be?

We don't know the Chinese intent. They are in a game of ambitions, which lie far beyond the Line of Actual Control. China is playing the big global game.

The Chinese are threatened by the United States and have designs in the South China Sea and Taiwan. Therefore, China wishes to reconcile the border to their advantage and create a threat -- and then move forward towards their great ambition of becoming a world power.

The Indian border is incidental. It's a territorial border that China wants to put to rest so that it can move ahead towards larger goals.

Do you foresee a likely escalation in the situation in the months leading up to the general election to put pressure on the Modi government? Where do you believe the next flashpoint could be? In Uttarakhand?

The Chinese are masters in grey zone warfare and are colluding with the Pakistanis.

Therefore, these pressure tactics are not restricted to the border alone, but can be exerted in manifold ways.

The Line of Actual Control is important and we have to be vigilant because it has grave ramifications on Indian public opinion, but there are many other non-military operations in the 'grey zone' that the Chinese can undertake to create situations which are in their favour.

The Hillary-Trump election -- as it has subsequently come to light -- reveals the pressure built into the anti-Hillary campaign by inimical elements to change public opinion.

Similarly, public opinion was moulded during the Brexit referendum so that the UK left the European Union.

We have to be cautious. There can be many other ways -- like cyber attacks, targeting power stations to create blackouts which have already been carried out by inimical elements outside the country. It may not be directly attributable, but it's understandable that there is an inimical power which is trying such attacks.

Do you think the government's refusal to discuss this stand-off in Parliament is correct?

I am sure the Standing Committee on Defence, which comprises members of Parliament from all parties, is being regularly briefed on what's happening on the China front.

There may not be an overt discussion in Parliament because of the sensitiveness of the issue, but the defence and foreign ministers have made statements keeping Parliament informed.

Exacting discussions take place in the Standing Committee on Defence and the members would have questioned all these issues and obtained answers.

• Part 3: 'The basic lesson is not to trust China'

• Standoff in Ladakh