Guwahati, June 26: Over a month after Defence Minister George Fernandes' candid statement declaring China as ``the potential threat No 1,'' army officials here say that though the tension at the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs has not yet reached the Sino-Indo border, heated verbal exchange between the two nations has indeed revived memories of the '62 war and the tension in 1986, causing unease at least on the Indian side.``A loose cannon from either side can trigger tension or worse at the border,'' caution army officials. This could be in any form - a bullet fired or a statement issued by New Delhi or Beijing.Indian officials visiting Wongdung, Maja and Asaphila (in Arunachal Pradesh) - vantage points for the Indian troops to keep an eye on the other side -often talk of tense moments when Chinese and Indian troops cross each other.``Though there has not been any mobilisation of force at the border, we are concerned about their intentions,'' said an Army official, at the GOC 4 corpsheadquarters in Tezpur. Signs on the other side, he adds, have never been very friendly.The Chinese-built helipad which came up in Wongdung in Arunachal Pradesh in 1986, and the two-lane road in Tibet heading towards Tawang is now being watched by the Indian Intelligence and troops of the Assam Rifles (in charge of guarding the border) with renewed caution.In 1986, officials say, the Chinese Army crossed into Arunachal Pradesh and constructed a helipad at Wongdung (a disputed area), about four hours drive from Tawang. ``The area at that time was not under the Indian Army but the State Intelligence Bureau. When the matter was reported, Indian troops moved in, followed by the Chinese,'' an official said.The following months were tense, at the border and in New Delhi. From a platoon, the strength of men increased to two to three divisions (about 40,000 men) on both sides. And for almost a year armed men sat on either side of the Namka Chu river, eyeball to eyeball. Though no bullet was fired, both sideswere prepared for casualties and war.``They were North of the river while we were on the South. This went on for a year till the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi went to China and the pullout began,'' the official said.
