3 years of conflict: LAC resolution on slow burn
NEW DELHI: The lingering border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh is set to enter its third year, with a full resolution still not in sight even though the two sides have had partial success in disengaging rival soldiers from some friction areas on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and talks are on to end the deadlock that has cast a shadow over the bilateral relationship.
Negotiations with China during the last two years have helped ease tensions along LAC and future talks hold hope for further positive outcomes that are expected to lead to de-escalation of the conflict, officials monitoring the LAC standoff said, asking not to be identified.
“You can say that the progress has been slow. But it’s not as if there has been no progress in resolving the standoff. We will continue talking to the Chinese till a solution is found,” said one of the officials cited above.
The two countries have been locked in a border row since early May 2020, and despite disengagement of soldiers from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs area, the two armies still have around 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.
The Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have held 15 rounds of military talks to cool border tensions, but problems at Patrol Point-15 near Kongka La, Depsang Bulge in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector are still on the negotiating table.
“It is unreasonable to assume that every round of talks will have a tangible outcome. The important thing is we are still talking at the military and diplomatic level to find a mutually acceptable solution,” said a second official.
Last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh said that disengagement of rival troops and de-escalation of the border conflict with China was the way forward, and the ongoing talks for peaceful resolution of the standoff would continue even as Indian troops stood firm on the ground.
“As far as the talks go, the Indian Army has achieved what it had to. We could be in the current status till perpetuity until there is political rapprochement between the two countries. PLA wanted to create a benign border in the Ladakh sector and it has done so to its advantage. Contested areas in Ladakh have been put to rest by creating so-called buffer zones,” said Lieutenant General Rakesh Sharma (retd), a military affairs expert and former commander of the Lehbased HQs 14 Corps.
It suits China to exert geostrategic pressure on India by retaining its forces on LAC in perpetuity, and the massive infrastruc
ture build up across the border signals PLA’s intention to stay there, Sharma added. “There is trust deficit between both sides that cannot be easily obviated and mandates caution. We can’t let our guard down.”
Over the last two years, India and China have hardened their stance on LAC with increased military activities on both sides of the boundary, deployment of modern weapons, infrastructure development, and a series of combat manoeuvres by their armies. The longer the standoff lasts, it benefits China, said former director general of military operations Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd).
“It becomes the Chinese LAC and, ipso facto, they have administrative control over it. However, we have shown strategic resolve, operational and tactical superiority and responded with rapid and proportionate build-up to PLA actions since the standoff began,” said Bhatia.
On the positive side, he said, no escalation took place in contested areas in the central and eastern sectors. “We will have to resolve the problems in the Ladakh sector through political, diplomatic and military dialogue,” he added.
The Galwan Valley skirmish and the Indian Army’s lightning takeover of strategic heights on the southern side of Pangong Tso were among the key developments that took place months after the border row erupted two years ago. Trust deficit still persists between the Indian and Chinese armies after their soldiers were involved in the brutal clash in Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, and the lack of confidence in each other has hampered the disengagement process.
Bhatia said India’s response was strong in Galwan Valley and it ensured no such incidents recurred. It was first deadly skirmish between Indian and Chinese troops along LAC in more than five decades, and pushed the bilateral relationship to a breaking point - it left 20 Indian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Chinese troops dead.
The Indian Army’s bold moves on the southern side of Pangong Tso at midnight on August 29, 2020, stunned PLA and gave it heft in subsequent military negotiations, and eventually paved the way for the first and crucial round of disengagement.