Securing India’s ‘Chicken’s neck’: Need of the hour

 

Securing national borders and the sovereignty of the state is the utmost priority of any independent nation. The border conflicts are not a new job for our border security forces to do but what China is trying to do in the whole Sino-Indian border zone, that’s just a pinnacle of border infringement. In this very interesting yet important topic, let’s discuss the ‘Siliguri Corridor’ or ‘Chicken Neck’ situated in the northeastern part of India and the only way in the land of Seven Sisters. Tactically, it is a crucial part when it comes to defending Indian borders from the Chinese takeover.

 

 

To counter this specific scenario, India is working on projects which will allow New Delhi to be in continuous contact with its easternmost states via Bangladesh and Myanmar. Various projects are undergoing in these countries to ensure the route to northern states is not confined just to the Siliguri Corridor. Projects we will be discussing more as we go further.

 

Siliguri Corridor first came into being after the partition of Bengal in the year of 1947ad it's been the key region since then. The Kingdom of Sikkim is on its Northern side before its union with the Republic of India in the year 1975 by public referendum. The presence of Siliguri Corridor makes India’s presence strong in the west of Chumbi valley which is under Chinese control.

 

Speaking about the corridor's importance, it’s the only way for over 50 million Indian citizens in the northeastern states of India. So, one can understand how high the stakes are. Chumbi valley is situated between the state of Sikkim and the Nation of Tibet (NOT CHINA) is in the north of chicken neck and under the CCP’s rule. This important location makes it even hard to defend. During 1962’s Sino-Indian war, a situation arose when China tried to cut off this corridor.

 

 

Various new developments are ongoing in the concerned region as the India-China situation tightens. There are reports that China is building villages illegally in the northern parts of Bhutan which CCP claims to be a part of China. The argument they give is that the king of Bhutan gave Chinese ship and yak herders to let their livestock roam in these areas a long ago. Now, how legit the argument is, no one knows but it's about capturing the land so China is good with it seems.

 

China is planning to trade these parts in the demand of western Bhutan’s land which it claims to be a part of Chinese territory. If these western parts are going to be under Chinese control, it’ll give them a direct pass to the Siliguri corridor. Acting this aggressive is not new from the Chinese side as they regularly try to tease Indian border forces in the region of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

 

 

India is also making slow but important steps towards countering the situation or situations which are going to happen. New Delhi with Sheikh Hasina’s Bangladesh government working on several projects simultaneously. Various Road building and Railway projects are undergoing in the region. The terrain is hard to work with as both Ganges and Brahmaputra’s vast river plains merge in Bangladesh making it even hard for construction projects but with the new technology and bilateral understandings of the situation, Bangladesh is helping a lot.

 

 

India also started its work for the ‘Kaladan Project’ in Myanmar. Kaladan project is going to be the Indian Myanmar joint venture through which India is seeing the effortless flow of goods and services in the northern states like Nagaland, Meghalaya and others.

 

After analyzing the situation and stakes that are up, New Delhi in march deployed a new and powerful ‘Rafael Jet Squadron’ on West Bengal’s Hasimara Air Base. This new squadron will provide necessary support in the tough times and can prevent air support in the situation of the Chinese takeover of the Siliguri Corridor.

 

With the recent Taliban situation, the world is now too busy to give attention to illegal Chinese insurgent activities along its borders and beyond. The steady pace of China's acquiring territory is now gaining speed and is worse than ever. Along with Taiwan and the South China Sea, China is willing to extend its land borders in all 4 directions. No signs of this invasion will slow down in eyesight so, it's better to be ready and aware.