Home Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF
PLA: Reading Tea Leaves1
Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF

Any study of PLA gets hit by the wall of opacity or broad based sources, lacking as it is of military transparency and accountability. Xinhua or People’s Daily or Global Times tend to enjoy official patronage and state the official line in terms of

October 26, 2020 International Relations and Diplomacy, China, Article, Xi Jinping, CMC, CCP, LAC, Ladakh, corruption PLA, Gen Zhang Yang, peace disease, 1959 Line
The Shifting Strategic Connotations of Line(s) of Control
Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF

The Line of Control (LOC), the Line of Actual Control (LAC) hereinafter the LINES, and the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, are denoted by huge dissimilarities, as chalk and cheese. The 772

September 08, 2020 National Security and Strategic Studies, International Relations and Diplomacy, China, Article, China, CPEC, PLA, Gilgit-Baltistan, CBMs, Chushul, Eastern Ladakh., Raksha Mantri
Inflexion in Sino-Indian Relations: Case for Strategic Pragmatism
Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF

The new China has shown itself as muscular, aggressive, expansionist and determined to force its way to top of the world stage by vigourously establishing Pax Sinica. China’s in the past three decades has been rapidly growing economically and acc

August 21, 2020 International Relations and Diplomacy, China, Article, China, QUAD, PLA, BRI, Aksai Chin, COVID-19, LAC, Ladakh, CBMs, Pangong Tso
The ‘Party’ that Controls the Gun!
Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF

In analysing the aggression shown by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Eastern Ladakh since May 2020, and the intransigence apparent in the consequent negotiations to return to status quo, it is imperative follow the hierarchy dictating the sam

July 23, 2020 International Relations and Diplomacy, China, Article, CPC, PLA, Ladakh, Mao, Western Theatre Command, political commissar, 2019 White Paper China National Defense, C4ISR
Eastern Ladakh: Studying the ‘Warning Shots’
Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF

The whys and wherefores of the Chinese aggression in Eastern Ladakh, cumulated with the larger peripheral belligerence in South China and East China Seas and the Taiwan Straits in 2020, have been debated ad infinitum. The events of Galwan Valley, Hot

July 13, 2020 National Security and Strategic Studies, Article, PLA, Strategic Support Force, Ladakh, Tibet, Galwan valley, ISR, Strategic Rocket Force, Xinjian, PLA Western Theatre Command
Managing the LAC: Rules are Handrails, and Not Handcuffs!
Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF

The Dragon is awake, and is vigourously seeking to establish Pax Sinica! Of the two milestones of the 100th anniversaries of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 2021 and 2

June 27, 2020 National Security and Strategic Studies, International Relations and Diplomacy, Border and Coastal Security, China, Article, PLA, LAC, Ladakh, Galwan, CBMs, Agreement for Maintenance peace & Stability, Pangong Tso, Border Maintenance Posture, ROE
Eastern LADAKH (EL) and Siachen: The Geo-Strategic Obstruct
Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF

Indeed, the Soltoro Ridge with the Shyok River to its West, the Siachen Glacier and the Nubra Valley and the Saser Muztagh with the Shyok River to its East, is a great geostrategic obstruct to any collusive designs of Pakistan and China. With the Sha

June 17, 2020 National Security and Strategic Studies, Article, China, Siachen, Aksai Chin, Galwan, Eastern Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Shyok, Trans Karakoram Tract, ISR
India-China Standoff along the LAC: Challenges and Opportunities
Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow, VIF

On 16 April 2013, ITBP discovered a new Chinese six tent position near Raki Nullah in the Sub Sector North of Eastern Ladakh. On 18 April, when the Indian Army asked PLA to withdraw to its original positions, the PLA produced a map which was part of

June 10, 2020 International Relations and Diplomacy, China, Article, LAC, Chou en lai, Depsang, Chumar, BPMs, Doklam Crisis, JWG, Pagong Tso, Galwan
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