BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN NUCLEAR-ARMED INDIA AND CHINA
India and China have added to their nuclear warhead stockpile in the last year while all other nuclear-armed nations like the US, Russia and France, continued to modernise their arsenal, according to a recent report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
■ May 5-May 9: First clashes occur between India and China troops near the Pangong Tso Lake in Eastern Ladakh on May 5, 6 and at Naku La in North Sikkim on May 9.
■ May 10 & 11: India and China move additional troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
■ May 12: Chinese helicopters fly close to the border. The Indian Air Force dispatches Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft to carry out sorties along the LAC.
■ May 23: Army Chief General Manoj Naravane visits Leh, the headquarters of 14 Corps in Ladakh.
■ May 26: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a meeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs.
■ May 28: Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the head of the two-million-strong military, orders the military to scale up the battle preparedness.
■ June 2: Major general-rank officers from both the sides held deliberations on the contentious issues. It was reported that the meeting remained “inconclusive”.
■ June 6: In an attempt to diffuse the situation, Indian military delegation headed by the commander of Leh-based 14 Corp Lieutenant General Harinder Singh and China’s Major General Liu Lin, Commander of South Xinjiang Military Region hold talks.
■ June 8: Amid military-level talks between India and China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds a review meeting with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and three service chiefs.
■ June 12: Major General-level talks to resolve trouble spots in the Galwan area.