Congress seeks debate on full gamut of India-China relations in monsoon session of Parliament

India Gazette

a day ago

New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): Noting that a senior Army officer has revealed some details of the 'extraordinary ways' by which China helped the Pakistan Air Force during Operation Sindoor, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Friday that the party would press for a discussion on full gamut of India-China relations during the monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 21.
In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government must agree to such a discussion so that a consensus can be built for a collective response to the geopolitical and economic challenges that China poses to India.
'The Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance) Lt. Gen Rahul R. Singh has just publicly confirmed what has been talked about ever since Operation Sindoor was halted abruptly at the intervention of President Trump. Lt. Gen Singh has revealed some details of the extraordinary ways by which China helped the Pakistan Air Force. This is the same China which completely destroyed the status quo in Ladakh five years ago but to which Prime Minister Modi gave a public clean chit on June 19, 2020,' Jairam Ramesh said.
'For five years, the INC has been demanding a discussion on the full gamut of India-China relations in the Parliament. The Modi Government has consistently refused to have such a debate. The INC will continue to make this demand in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament, scheduled to commence on July 21, 2025. The Modi Government must agree at least now so that a consensus can be built for a collective response to the geopolitical and economic challenges that China poses to India - directly and through Pakistan,' he added.
India has ruled out any mediation in its issues with Pakistan and said that cessation of hostilities, following Op Sindoor, ended after the neighbouring country's DGMO called up his Indian counterpart.
Jairam Ramesh said that recently, China organised a trilateral meeting with Pakistan and Bangladesh in Kunming.
'India's trade deficit with China is at record highs. The border agreement arrived at is not a restoration of the status quo,' he said.
Speaking at the 'New Age Military Technologies' organised by FICCI, Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh, on Friday, outlined several key lessons learnt from Operation Sindoor launched by India in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Deputy COAS highlighted the importance of air defence and technological advancement during military operations.
Referring to Pakistan-China alliance, the Deputy Chief pointed out that India has 'two adversaries on one border,' where Pakistan was on the front and China was providing all possible support.
The Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance) said that Pakistan has 81 per cent Chinese hardware in their military fleet.
'Air Defence and how it panned out during the entire operation was important... This time, our population centres were not quite addressed, but next time, we need to be prepared for that... So few lessons I must flag as far as Operation Sindoor is concerned. Firstly, we had one border and two adversaries, actually three. Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support. In the last five years, 81% of the military hardware with Pakistan is Chinese...' he said.
Emphasising the need for a robust air defence system, the Deputy COAS revealed that Pakistan had 'live updates' on India's important vectors that too, with China's help.
'China can test its weapons against other weapons, so it's like a live lab available to them. Turkey also played an important role in providing the type of support it did; they gave Bayraktar and numerous other drones... When DGMO-level talks were on, Pakistan had the live updates of our important vectors, from China... We need a robust air defence system,' he said.
Lt Gen Rahul R Singh lauded the Indian Armed Forces for carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure.
He emphasised the strategic messaging and integration of technology and human intelligence in target selection and planning.
'There are a few lessons from Operation Sindoor. The strategic messaging by leadership was unambiguous... There is no scope of absorbing the pain the way we did a few years ago... The planning and selection of targets was based on a lot of data that was collected using technology and human intelligence. So a total of 21 targets were identified, out of which nine targets we thought would be prudent to engage... It was only the final day or the final hour that the decision was taken that these nine targets would be engaged,' he said.
'A considered decision was taken that it will be a tri-services approach to send the right message that we indeed are an integrated force... An important consideration was that we should always be at the top of the escalation ladder. When we reach a military objective, we should try and put a stop to it... War is easy to initiate, but it's very difficult to control. So I would say that was a very masterly stroke that was played to stop the war at an appropriate time,' he added. (ANI)