| Thursday , June 11 , 2015 |
Chest-thumping on raid backfires | |
| Our Bureau | |
| New Delhi, June 10: Myanmar was tonight quoted as saying Indian forces had carried out an operation on insurgents "on the Indian side". The reported statement challenges New Delhi's version and possibly seeks the only recourse available to a sovereign country after the Narendra Modi government went to town on the raid on militants who killed Indian soldiers last week. "According to the information sent by Tatmadaw (the Myanmarese army) battalions on the ground, we have learned that the military operation was performed on the Indian side at India-Myanmar border," AFP quoted Zaw Htay, director of Myanmar's presidential office, as saying in a Facebook post. Earlier in the day, The Wall Street Journal had said Zaw Htay had confirmed that Indian troops had entered his country. He said that there was "coordination and cooperation" between the Indian troops and Myanmar's armed forces... but added that no Myanmar soldiers were directly involved, the Journal reported. Last night, Indian minister of state for information and broadcasting, Col (retired) Rajyavardhan Rathore, had hit the airwaves to say: "It (the army raid) is undoubtedly a message to all nations that harbour any intentions - be it the west or the specific country we went into right now. Even if there are groups within countries that harbour terror intentions, we will choose the time and the place of hitting them." The Indian Army was more nuanced in its statement yesterday while announcing the raid in which between 20 and 38 militants are believed to have been killed. The Indian raid was in response to a militant ambush in Manipur on June 4 in which 18 soldiers were killed. The army had said "we are in communication with the Myanmar authorities on this matter", without disclosing whether the neighbouring country was informed before or after the raid. The army had also cited "the history of close cooperation between our two militaries" and said "we look forward to working with them to combat such terrorism". Such ambiguous language is part and parcel of covert operations, which, by definition, are supposed to remain covert, not overt. But the Indian minister's chest-thumping appears to have left Myanmar with little option but to publicly distance itself from the Indian operation. The Facebook post, however, sought to assure New Delhi that Myanmar would not allow any anti-India force to function from its territory. Indian Army sources insisted - but off the record, unlike the minister - that the operation against the militants "along the India-Myanmar border" was a "collaborative effort and was done with the full information of the Myanmar authorities". A senior officer said: "There seems to be an erroneous impression that the operations were carried out in isolation of the Myanmar authorities.... This was a collaborative effort and was done with the full information of the Myanmar authorities." Another officer said the "tempo of operations is set to increase". But Myanmar's reported public denial of the operation in its territory has raised questions whether India has shifted from the public posture the two nations may have quietly agreed to. The disclaimer from the Myanmar government points to differences that could have a broader impact on the region because it creates an impression that New Delhi either did not inform its neighbour about the operations or deviated from a planned post-operation script. If India did manage to convince Myanmar to allow its forces to cross the border and launch yesterday's operations, the success represents a diplomatic "turning point", said a senior diplomat. But if India's action was "unilateral" in nature, it could "further complicate" the relationship. Given the sensitivities, a less vocal public posture by India after the attack would have been more appropriate. India's ambassador to Myanmar, Gautam Mukhopadhyay, spent the day in a series of meetings with Myanmar officials in Nay Pyi Taw, the country's new capital that is 380km north of Yangon, where the Indian mission is based, officials said. By late evening, an official said, Mukhopadhyay had been told by the Myanmarese authorities they were unhappy with the "way the operation had been presented". After Army’s Myanmar strike, Rathore tweets: ‘Message to Pak, #56inchrocks’Discussion in 'Pakistan Army' started by Mad_Scientist, Yesterday at 11:44 AM. http://defence.pk/threads/after-army%E2%80%99s-myanmar-strike-rathore-tweets-%E2%80%98message-to-pak-56inchrocks%E2%80%99.380195/page-4 Army and Govt signal: Watch this spaceNSA Doval to visit Myanmar; UAV missions from Imphal identified camps; envoy meets officials in Nay Pyi Taw. Sources said there are an estimated 20 camps which are likely targets. Officials also maintained ambiguity over the Tuesday operation saying “all is not over”. Written by Pranav Kulkarni , Sushant Singh | New Delhi | Updated: June 11, 2015 6:07 am A day after the Army carried out strikes across the Myanmar border at militant groups suspected to be behind the June 4 attack on the Army convoy, sources said today that more such operations could not be ruled out given the “scale” of the Northeast militant infrastructure across the border. Sources said there are an estimated 20 camps which are likely targets. Officials also maintained ambiguity over the Tuesday operation saying “all is not over”. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is expected to visit Myanmar soon to discuss further “joint action” against the insurgents. Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Gautam Mukhopadhaya today reviewed the post-operation situation with senior officials of the Myanmar government in the capital Nay Pyi Taw. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had visited Myanmar unannounced on May 22 ahead of fighting breaking out with the NSCN (K) to firm up cross-border security cooperation plans. Officials said his visit was not related to yesterday’s operations. In details that have now begun to emerge, sources said that at least 20 militants were killed and 11 “seriously injured” in the operations that were carried out by commandos “on foot”. Interestingly, the “men” picked up for the operation were ones with “North-Eastern features” so that they could blend in. The operation was led by 21 Special Forces (Para), an elite para-commando unit of the Indian Army. Sources said that though India’s intention to stage retaliatory strikes was shared with Myanmar days ahead of the attack, data on specific targets was “neither asked for nor given.” Explained: Hunters of the NSCN (K) Some of the militants killed could have been involved in the last Thursday’s ambush in Chandel which killed 18 soldiers of the Dogra unit. Sources said that one team of 21 Special Forces, based at Leimakhong, slithered down from two Advanced Light helicopters onto militat camps in Myanmar territory. Although these camps were identified targets, their location was confirmed by UAV missions carried out from Imphal. At least three UAV missions were conducted every week and latest images were compared with previous ones to confirm that the camps were still occupied. Sources said that these camps are not very deep in Myanmar territory. They lie close to a prominent local commercial route between India and Myanmar, allowing the militants to extort money from traders. Thoubal-based 2 Assam Rifles and Moreh-based 11 Assam Rifles were used in a supporting ground role for the operation. The SF personnel used portable rockets and grenades. Sources said that an additional team of 21 SF has been mobilised in Dimapur and is being inducted into the India-Myanmar border. Assam Rifles units on India-Myanmar border in Chandel and adjoining districts are on high alert to monitor any suspicious movement of militants who have been scattered after Wednesday’s operation. The Army is also wary of any retaliatory attacks being planned by NSCN (K). The local Assam Rifles units have been working closely with the Manipur civilian administration to convince the local population that they will not be inconvenienced or harassed by these operations, this being the harvesting season. Meanwhile, NSCN (K) has contested the Army’s claim in handouts sent to the local media in which it rejected the reports of cross-border operation as “false” and alleged that these were efforts by the Indian Army to “salvage their reputation”. The Myanmar government has confirmed that Indian soldiers had entered their country on Wednesday. Zaw Htay, director of the office of Myanmar President Thein Sein was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying that there was “coordination and cooperation” between the Indian troops and Myanmar’s armed forces but added that no Myanmar soldiers were directly involved. “We will never allow or support insurgents, whether (they are) against Myanmar or against our neighbouring countries,” Zaw Htay is quoted as saying. Interestingly, the Army did not deny — or confirm — many versions of the operation on social media all through the day including cropped, pixilated photographs of purported soldiers who conducted the operations. |