South Asia and Beyond

The Strategic Significance of Vijaynagar: Northeast’s ‘Siachen’

Vijaynagar, Arunachal Pradesh: In the second of our series, ‘East of the Northeast’, Lieutenant General P.C. Nair, Director General, Assam Rifles in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi in Vijaynagar, one of the easternmost inhabited areas in India.

The head of the oldest paramilitary organisation in the country flies on board an IAF Chinook helicopter with the SNG team of Amitabh P. Revi and Rohit Pandita to Vijaynagar, and explains the strategic significance of the salient on the India-Myanmar border, pointing out, “everyone knows what happened in Siachen where we preempted the Pakistanis by twenty four hours (with later) General Sanjay Kulkarni, then company commander. Here (later) General Guraya’s party preempted the Chinese by about a week. So a week later if we were not here, not only the Chinese but also Kachin rebels, who are being tutored by the Chinese or a mix of both would have been here. Today, we wouldn’t have been here if Gen Guraya’s party hadn’t reached here in December 1961.” Lt Gen Nair adds, “why this 730 square kilometers is very important is, from this you get an approach to the southern banks of Brahmaputra. What that means is from here, you would head straight to Dibrugarh, Jorhat and onwards to Guwahati. There is absolutely no need of crossing the Brahmaputra. So just imagine a scene where you have troops deployed along the northern borders, along the higher reaches of Arunachal. But, what if, right behind on the southern bank, somebody just comes in, so there lies the significance of this.”

Watch this interview for more, on location in Vijaynagar, near the India-Myanmar border

Related Stories/Videos:

“Insurgency Levels Down, Drug Smuggling Up; ₹ 810 Cr Of Trans-border Contraband Seized in 2023”

Along the China Frontier in the East: A Reporter’s Journal (Part – I)

Along the China Frontier in the East: A Reporter’s Journal ( Part-II)

Deterring And Denying An Expansionist China

China’s Political, Diplomatic Engagement With No Military Disengagement

“China Tried To Change Yangtze Status Quo, But India Showed It Can’t Be Bullied”

U.S. Draft Resolution On Arunachal Symbolises Depth Of Strategic Ties

India Ramps Up Infrastructure In Arunachal To Deter China

Why The Arunachal Frontier Highway Is A Big Deal

‘China Gains Each Time There’s A Russia-West Conflict, India Should Keep Focus On Ladakh, Arunachal’

East Of The North-East: A Journey To Eastern Arunachal

When Army Thwarted Chinese Move On Arunachal Border During Kargil

Tawang And Arunachal Pradesh Well Secured, Point Out Ex-Officers

Revisiting Assam Tea Industry’s Most Forgettable Decade

Assam’s Tryst With Insurgency: The ULFA Years

30 Years On, A Throwback To Assam’s ‘Hot Brew’

Assam Accord: The Back Story

 

Related

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *