[What is new is the chest thumping in public.]
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/army-crossed-border-to-target-militants-in-the-past-too/99/
Myanmar strike: Not the first time Army conducted cross-border operations
In 2006, India, Myanmar are believed to have launched joint ops inside
Myanmar to flush out NSCN(K) militants.
The shoes of one of the deceased Army men, at the site of the attack.
(Source: Express Photo by Deepak Shijagurumayum)
Written by Sushant Singh | New Delhi | Updated: June 10, 2015 1:18 pm
Tuesday’s military strike targeting rebels who killed 18 soldiers in
Manipur last week is not the first time that India has conducted such
operations.
In the past, the Army has gone across the border, into neighbouring
countries, to target militant groups operating from those territories.
Only a few of these operations have been acknowledged so far.
* The Army’s operations — in close collaboration with Mukti Bahini —
inside then East Pakistan in the build-up to the 1971 Bangladesh war
are public knowledge, although they haven’t been officially
acknowledged by the government.
* Then there are the cross-border operations conducted across the Line
of Control (LoC) in Kashmir by Special Forces and Ghatak platoons of
infantry units deployed in the area. These cross-border operations are
usually tactical in nature, conducted over a few hours with targets
selected close to the LoC, to cause short-term damage and send a
message to the other side.
Related
Cross-border strike: Army enters Myanmar to hit Naga Militants
Manipur ambush: Unit could have been lax, not followed SOPs, say experts
Manipur ambush: India to ask Myanmar for help to plug border
* Among the cross-border operations tacitly acknowledged by the
government is “Operation All Clear” conducted inside Bhutan in
December 2003 to eliminate North Eastern militant groups based in
South Bhutan. About 30 militant camps —13 ULFA, 12 NDFB and 5 KLO —
were the target of intelligence-based operations which included troops
from 3 Corps. The then Army chief, General N C Vij, had announced that
650 militants had been “neutralised” — either killed or captured —
during the operations.
* In April-May 1995, following the signing of an MoU for “maintenance
of peace and tranquility in border areas”, India and Myanmar (then
Burma) conducted a joint military operation, “Operation Golden Bird”.
The Indian Army’s 57 Mountain Division blocked a column of around 200
NSCN, ULFA and KLO militants moving through the Myanmar-Mizoram border
towards Manipur, after it picked up a consignment of weapons on the
Bangladesh coast near Cox’s Bazar.
The Indian government awarded the Nehru Peace Prize to Aung Sang Suu
Kyi at the same time, angering Myanmar’s military rulers who pulled
out of the joint operation. This allowed the trapped militants to
escape. The then Eastern Army commander, Lieutenant General H R S
Kalkat, later said that “India should leave its Burma policy to the
Army. We are soldiers, they (Myanmar Junta) are soldiers and our blood
is thicker than the blood of bureaucrats.”
* In January 2006, India and Myanmar are believed to have conducted
some smallscale joint military operations inside Myanmar to flush out
militants from NSCN (Khaplang) group. This was supposedly done in
exchange of transfer of some military equipment to Myanmar Army by
India, following high-level visits by the Indian President, Defence
Minister and Air Force chief to Myanmar.
But never before have cross-border operations been conducted by India
so quickly after an action by militants. Nor have they been
acknowledged — even if somewhat ambiguously — immediately.
First Published on: June 10, 2015 4:34 am
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