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The government has started state farms in the mountains of Ladakh to furnish the Himalayan defense forces with food supplies, all of which must now be flown in. Outposts as high as 18,000 ft. that were formerly shut down in the winter are now occupied all year round. Guarding against the health hazard of prolonged service in the mountains, Indian defense officials now rotate troops in the forward Ladakh outposts every three months. Says an Indian officer of the military buildup: "Looking five years ahead, we hope to be in a better position than the Chinese."
But five years may well be too long. Nehru knows that he cannot push the Communist Chinese out of the territory they occupy without triggering a conflict that would force him to call in the Western allies to bail him out. But Nehru can no longer afford to let China gobble up any more Indian territory. If India cannot throw the Chinese out, it must hasten its defense buildup to deter Red China from any more land grabbing. If it does not, India may find itself in the grip of a five-finger vise.