There is a long history behind the border fight between China and India. This dispute, however, predates the independence of India and took root during the colonial rule of the British in India.
In the latter half of the 1800s, the British drew two borders in an attempt to demarcate the tenuous and undefined frontier between China and India. The first was in the West in Kashmir and the other in the East. However, China and the previously independent Tibet did not agree to the proposed demarcation, which left the question of demarcation hanging for years – up until now.
According to Saif Khalid on Twitter,
“The border skirmishes are not new to the 3,488km (2,167-mile) frontier between India and China, most of which remains disputed and undemarcated…”
Following the independence of India in 1947, Indian leaders asserted that the borders drawn by the British were formal and moved in to claim some of the disputed areas including the Aksai Chin region near the Galwan Valley. While China accepted the stance initially, it changed its mind with time. For example, in 1957, China built a road in the Western area in the places that India had claimed for itself.
Initially, the foreign relations between the two countries were amicable and friendly, but they took a hit due to the border dispute. In 1959, the first skirmishes between the two countries broke out, escalating and slipping into the deeper end of violence up until 1962, when Chinese soldiers invaded India over the disputed border.
32 days of warring followed, ending only when China succeeded in gaining secure control in the Western area and flushed the less-skillful and ill-equipped India into the Easter sector. This loss has gone down in history as one of the most humiliating losses for India.
In an attempt to establish an official demarcation, a Line of Actual Control was established by the two countries, marking the disputed claims. But this LAC was not definitive, it was porous and incongruous, failing to resolve the competing claims between the two countries. Therefore, the tension simmered just beneath the surface.
Before Xi Jinping’s first visit to PM Modi in September 2014, the tension boiled over. 200 Chinese soldiers entered Indian territory in the West to construct a road. The Indian troops present fought off the troops, pushing them back and destroying the road.
In a similar vein, in 2017, Chinese engineers attempted to build a road via the Doklam plateau which is an area in the Western Himalayas claimed by China and Bhutan. Indian troops on their side of the border once more pushed the crew back through direct intervention.
Following this, weeks of intervention took place between the two countries and culminated in India consenting to pull back its troops from the area and China putting a pin in its projects. However, satellite images released after the agreement indicated that both countries had continued to build up their forces near Doklam. This included China deploying a missile system and a fighter jet to its airbase while India deployed helicopters to its base.
According to Adam Ni, the board director of CPC in Australia,
“Both China and India are ramping up activities in the Himalayas — building infrastructure, sending military assets — to have more control in the region.”
In addition to the building up of forces, incursions are a regular occurrence as well. The Indian government has reported that China is relentless, and its forces have snuck into Indian territory nearly 1000 times between 2016 and 2018. There has, however, been no use of deadly force or shooting.
The Indian government reported at the beginning of June that Chinese forces threw rocks at the Indian army unprovoked. This claim has been countered by the Chinese government which says that the Indian instigated the attack by walking illegally in Chinese territory.
The true story is unknown, but the facts state that nearly a hundred plus soldiers have been injured due to the face-off on May 5th and May 9th. Following this, the tensions have only escalated and boiled over, rather than returning to a dormant state.
The deadliest crash since 1962 between the two countries took place on June 15th and 16th. Nearly 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley, which is a highly contentious area in the Ladakh region which is at a high altitude.
On the other hand, there are rumors that nearly 43 Chinese casualties have taken place. This remains unconfirmed. This followed the latest skirmish in May in Galwan Valley. Following such, the tensions between the two countries have been at all times high regarding the 2200 mile frontier which spans the Himalayas.
On 16th June, the Indian Army stated on Twitter,
“During de-escalation process underway in Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting.”
However, the number increased to 20 later. This was also attributed to the temperatures in the zone. Sushant Singh wrote,
“…and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total that was killed in action to 20. Indian Army is firmly committed to protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation. (2/2)”
On the other hand, the Chinese army has not provided any details. What remains unknown is the root cause of the skirmish. The blame is always allocated to the opposing side by China and India.
The Indian Foreign Ministry wrote,
“India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side. We expect the same of the Chinese side.”
On the other hand, the Chinese Military stated that the Indian army,
“…conducted illegal activity, and deliberately launched provocative attacks, triggering violent physical conflicts between the two sides, resulting in casualties”
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