India-China relation: On the brink of demise

If there is no peace in one's mind, there can be no peace in one's approach to others; and thus no peaceful relations between individuals or between nations.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Amidst the growing tension along the line of actual control from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing is fueling the entire region by intentionally provoking New Delhi. During May, when the entire world was busy fighting Covid-19, Beijing thought it appropriate to intrude into the Indian side of the territory. The border is not well demarcated and both sides have different claims and perceptions of the LAC. However, so far the situation was manageable with the agreed mechanism for border area and patrolling protocol.

New Delhi has conveyed a clear message to Beijing that the status quo must be restored in Eastern Ladakh and, Beijing should follow all mutually agreed protocols for border management to bring back peace and tranquillity in the area.

Situation prior to May 2020 I Indian Army PPs

• Patrolling Point 14 at Galwan Valley which is strategically located between Ladakh in the west and Aksai Chin in the east.

• Patrolling Point 17 at Hot Springs in Eastern Ladakh.

• Patrolling in the fingers area from 1-8 near Pangong Tso Lake.

• Patrolling Point in the Gogra area.

Current Situation:

After the 4th round of Corps Commander meeting, both sides agreed to disengage their troops and create a buffer zone of at least 1.5 km on each side of the Line of Actual Control. But, the Chinese refused to even disengage fully on the north bank of Pangong Tso as well as Patrolling Point 17-A at Gogra area.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his book "My Land and My People" mentioned that and I quote "To save my people from worse disaster, I and my government tried to abide by the agreements, unjust though it was, but the Chinese broke every promise they had made in it." Therefore, it is not difficult to comprehend the ideology of the communist party to frequently discard the mutually agreed terms.

After the 5th round of military talks, nothing has been changed. The restoration of the Status Quo as it existed in May still not visible. The Beijing has been particularly adamant about not withdrawing eastwards from 8 km stretch it has occupied from Finger-4 to Finger-8.

On the contrary, after troops disengagement, the area now falls under China’s “buffer zone”. As per the agreement between the Corps Commanders, a buffer zone of at least 1.5 km on both sides of the Line of Actual Control has to be created and restrict the patrolling of Indian soldiers for the month or so.

Additionally, the news is floating that China is taking an aggressive stand against India including the deployment of its H-6 bomber aircraft in Kashgar. The Kashgar airbase is 475 km away from the Karakoram Pass and is seen as a direct deployment against India.

Indian army matching the efforts by deploying heavy artillery especially T-90 tanks and M-777 ultra-light howitzers. The American howitzers are known for their precision artillery fire up to a range of 24-30 km in mountainous regions. To support the Army's forward deployments like the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) sector along the LAC, sources said, C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, navy's P-8I aircraft generally used for maritime patrol and reconnaissance, Mig-29, Mig 29K, Sukhoi 30 MKI, and attack helicopter like AH-64 Apache were already deployed by Indan Airforce in their forward base monitoring the entire situation closely.

Photo Courtesy: ANI