'China Gained A Lot Over Time Using Salami Slicing Tactic': Ex-Army Chief

The Chinese army has been trying to alter the status quo along the LAC in very "small incremental steps", said Gen MM Naravane (retired).

Former Indian Army chief General MM Naravane has said that China's attempts to change the status quo on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by resorting to "salami slicing" tactics have led to a "more assertive" response from the Indian Army,

In a podcast with Smita Prakash, editor-in-chief of ANI, Gen Naravane said that the Chinese army has been trying to alter the status quo along the LAC in very "small incremental steps" and over a period of time, Beijing has gained a lot. 

The former Indian Army chief's remarks come in the wake of the December 9 face-off of the Chinese army with Indian troops in the Yangtse area of the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9, in which the Chinese were pushed back by the Indian Army.

"China has been trying to alter the status quo along the LAC for many years, decades in fact, and they have been doing this in very small incremental steps which by themselves do not look very dangerous. They look quite innocuous. What we call salami slicing, coming up one inch at a time. But in the bargain over a period of time, they have gained a lot. This is the tactics they have adopted and were continuing to do," Gen Naravane said.