<p>General K Sundarji, ignoring he political leadership, had in 1986 set up an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with Chinese troops who had taken up positions inside Indian territory, a move that paid off quite well.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Chinese were surprised by this well-orchestrated response from Indian troops which subsequently led to a change in Beijing's attitude towards New Delhi.<br /><br />In the summer of 1986, India learnt "the Chinese had crossed the Thagla Ridge and occupied a feature called Le, built permanent barracks as well as a helipad," former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran recalled the incident while delivering the second K Subrahmanyam lecture here.<br /><br />He said he saw this in some way linked to the hardening of the Chinese position on the border and the new insistence on India making concessions in the eastern sector.<br />The previous year, he recalled, China had begun to signal it was unwilling to legitimise the ceasefire line arrived at after the 1962 war as a border.<br /><br />"It was also conveyed to us that at a minimum Tawang would have to be transferred to the Chinese side, Saran recalled.<br /><br />The Chinese were infuriated when Gen Sundarji airlifted troops to the Thagla ridge and made them take positions just 10 meters from a Chinese forward post, he said.<br /><br />"I recall accompanying Ambassador K P S Menon to lodge a protest with the then Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister and being witness to a most undiplomatic, offensive and vituperative harangue by the latter," recalled Saran, who was then posted in Beijing.<br /><br />"The Chinese were taken completely by surprise as perhaps were our own political leaders," he said.</p>
<p>General K Sundarji, ignoring he political leadership, had in 1986 set up an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with Chinese troops who had taken up positions inside Indian territory, a move that paid off quite well.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Chinese were surprised by this well-orchestrated response from Indian troops which subsequently led to a change in Beijing's attitude towards New Delhi.<br /><br />In the summer of 1986, India learnt "the Chinese had crossed the Thagla Ridge and occupied a feature called Le, built permanent barracks as well as a helipad," former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran recalled the incident while delivering the second K Subrahmanyam lecture here.<br /><br />He said he saw this in some way linked to the hardening of the Chinese position on the border and the new insistence on India making concessions in the eastern sector.<br />The previous year, he recalled, China had begun to signal it was unwilling to legitimise the ceasefire line arrived at after the 1962 war as a border.<br /><br />"It was also conveyed to us that at a minimum Tawang would have to be transferred to the Chinese side, Saran recalled.<br /><br />The Chinese were infuriated when Gen Sundarji airlifted troops to the Thagla ridge and made them take positions just 10 meters from a Chinese forward post, he said.<br /><br />"I recall accompanying Ambassador K P S Menon to lodge a protest with the then Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister and being witness to a most undiplomatic, offensive and vituperative harangue by the latter," recalled Saran, who was then posted in Beijing.<br /><br />"The Chinese were taken completely by surprise as perhaps were our own political leaders," he said.</p>