China-India Tensions Continue Despite Pledge to Disengage
Indian and Chinese troops remain in a standoff at their contested Himalayan border, days after both sides promised peace.
(Bloomberg) -- Indian and Chinese troops are still locked in a standoff on their contested Himalayan border and Beijing accused New Delhi of “vile” acts, showing that tensions remain high after their worst military clash in 45 years.
About 50 square kilometers (20 square miles) previously controlled by India in the Pangong Tso area -- a glacial lake high on the Tibetan plateau -- is now being held by Chinese personnel, Indian officials with knowledge of the matter said. The lake sits in the disputed Ladakh area, which also includes the Galwan Valley, where fierce fighting earlier this month killed 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops.
India is monitoring a separate incursion in the Depsang Plains -- about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the Galwan River -- where Chinese troops have pitched tents and other infrastructure, the officials said, asking not to be identified due to rules on speaking to the media.
High-resolution satellite images appear to show Chinese structures on both sides of the shared border in the Galwan Valley that weren’t previously there, according to some Indian media reports. While China’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond when contacted for comment on a public holiday Thursday, spokesman Zhao Lijian opened his daily briefing Wednesday with a lengthy statement criticizing India’s actions earlier in the month.
“The adventurous acts of the Indian army seriously violated the agreements reached between the two countries on the border issue, and breached the basic norms governing international relations,” Zhao told reporters. “The acts of the Indian army are of a vile nature and have severe consequences.”
The fresh round of border tensions comes after a commander-level meeting on Monday between the two nations ended with an agreement to de-escalate the situation in Ladakh and to disengage from all areas in the region. For more than six weeks, soldiers have been facing off in at least two locations along the Line of Actual Control -- the 3,488 kilometer unmarked boundary between them -- and have rushed additional troops to the border.
On Thursday, India accused China of escalating tensions.
“The conduct of Chinese forces this year has been in complete disregard of all mutually agreed norms,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivasatava said in New Delhi. “The deployment of a large body of troops and changes in behavior has also been aggravated by unjustified and untenable claims.”The officials said the presence of People’s Liberation Army troops at Pangong Tso allowed them easy access to routes they used in the brief 1962 India-China war to enter southern Ladakh. Similarly, troops along the Galwan Valley and Depsang Plains could eventually threaten India’s control over 100 square kilometers of land -- an area roughly the size of Paris -- including the Karakorum Pass in the north.
Supply Route
India’s army “is aware of the position on the ground,” spokesman Aman Anand said, without elaborating. “Talks are on between the two sides to deescalate.”
If the Chinese military controlled Galwan, it could threaten India’s supply route to the military outpost of Daulet Beg Oldie, said Ian Hall, professor of international relations at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, and author of “Modi and the Reinvention of Indian Foreign Policy.” Daulat Beg Oldie is a key supply post for Indian soldiers operating in the world’s highest battlefield.
“This crisis is not over, and it is going to take a combination of military resolve and diplomatic finesse to keep the situation stable, hold India’s line, and avoid a political backlash at home,” Hall said. “The sheer aggression shown by the Chinese military must have shaken the government, as it has the Indian public.”
In the long term, Modi will need to spend more money on military modernization and align India more closely with the U.S., Hall said.
“The hedging approach, combined with the informal summits, has clearly not worked with Xi’s China,” he said.
U.S. Deployments
Washington has indicated its willingness to back the region through an increased force deployment in Asia, citing the Chinese army’s “provocative military actions,” including the deadly border confrontation with India among other moves.
“We’re going to make sure we’re postured appropriately to counter the PLA,” U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, said at the Brussels Forum 2020 on Thursday. “We think that’s the challenge of our time, and we’re going to make sure we have resources in place to do that.”
Pompeo mentioned China’s continued aggression in the South China Sea, its opaque nuclear program and “threats against peaceful neighbors” as ongoing provocations. He had blamed China directly for the border conflict with India in a speech on June 19.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.