India- China LAC Standoff

The famous American author Marya Mannes once said, “Borders are scratched across the hearts of men by
strangers with a calm, judicial pen and when the borders bleed, we watch with dread, the lines of ink across
the map turn red.” The ongoing issue between India and China is also regarding its border which lies in the
Ladakh region of India where China claims a 37,244 km2 area called Aksai Chin, a large uninhabited region
contended to be a part of China after the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The border is known as the “Line of
Actual Control” or LAC which is 4,057 km long (Actual length is still disputed).
History behind the disputed border
Though history of LAC dates back to the time when Ladakh was under the control of Sikh Empire, changes
that took place during the colonial regime are the most significant. After the defeat of Sikh Empire by the
British in 1846, control of Ladakh fell into the hands of British following which an attempt to demarcate a
border by way of discussions with the Chinese officials was made. The Chinese agreed that the natural
elements would serve as the border but while the Pangong Lake and Karakoram Pass were well defined,
Aksai Chin remained undefined.
Two ideas of border lines surfaced in 1865 and 1899. In 1865, W.H. Johnson proposed the ‘Johnson Line’
which extended till the Sanju Pass in Kun Lun mountains and placed Aksai Chin in India at the time when
Xinjiang was not under China. This line was modified by Sir John Ardagh in 1897 who placed the border
along the crest of Kun Lun mountains to the north of Yarkand River and hence came to be known as
‘Johnson-Ardagh Line’.
In 1899, a new border known as the ‘McCartney-MacDonald Line’ was presented to China by the British
officials which ran along Karakoram and placed Aksai Chin in China but China never responded,
considering it as an already established border. Quite surprisingly, both the borders were used on British
maps of India.
On India’s independence, India had set the borders as per the Johnson-Ardagh Line which included Aksai
Chin in the Indian Territory.
The War of 1962 and birth of LAC
Even after the end of Chinese Civil War, China had no objections to India’s control over Aksai Chin.
Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai repeatedly assured India that China had no claims over India-controlled
territories but later he argued that China recognized the MacDonald Line and since there was no treaty
between India and China, India cannot unilaterally define the boundary.
The border dispute and the ‘perceived subversion’ by India in Tibet led to the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and
as per Chinese military history, the war helped them secure western border and retain de facto control over
Aksai Chin. Until the bilateral agreement of 1993 which recognized its existence as LAC, the demarcation
was viewed as an informal ceasefire line between China and India. The 1993 agreement aimed at checking
the alignment of LAC where there are uncertainties and restricting the brandishing of firearms and is one of
the confidence building measures (CBMs) taken by both countries. Similar measures were taken in 1996,
2005 and 2013 and LAC remained a place with no permanent military stationing and only patrolling was
done at regular intervals by both the armies. Occasional clashes continued to be reported.
Conflicts in early June 2020
A conflict between countries is often a conflict of perceptions. The issue of LAC also arose due to differing
perceptions of both the countries regarding the exact position of the LAC. The edges of the Pangong lake
have been numbered in form of different fingers. While China claims the extent of its borders till finger 4,
India claims the extent till finger 8 making the 10 km long region between the two being called ‘Area of
Differing Perceptions’. China has positioned its 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers in this area. China also seems
considerably perturbed on the 255 km long all-weather road constructed by India which runs parallel to LAC
and connects Darbuk village in Leh to the military outpost at Daulat Beg Oldi which is called the Darbuk-
Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) road. Daulat Beg Oldi comes across as a strategic military location for
India because of its proximity to Aksai Chin and China claims it to be a violation of CBM. While a satellite
imagery in 2016 showed the construction of a road by China till the centre of LAC, India expressed no
concern over the same. The recent straining of India-China relations owes to the heavy military beef up that
was noticed on the Chinese side of the LAC and subsequent incursions into the Indian side leading to huge
military deployment by India. As a measure of de-escalation, talks were held at Moldo on 6th of June by
which both the armies were required to move back by a kilometer and a buffer to be created between the
LAC and the conflux of Shyok and Galwan rivers.
There could be a few possible reasons for Chinese aggression and military buildup. First, Chinese showcase
of being a global power and the ability to fight on different fronts at the same time and resorting to
arbitrariness when an issue cannot be resolved through peaceful means. This comes after the Parliamentary
resolution of India on 5th August 2019 where it modified the status of Jammu & Kashmir categorizing
Ladakh as a Union Territory and claiming Aksai Chin to be a part of it which was perceived by China as a
unilateral attempt of India to change the overall footing. The next most noteworthy reason could be China’s
rancour regarding the construction of a bridge over Galwan river which gives India access to the only
region where China has a strategic benefit of being on the height along the LAC. China also has a pique with
India emerging into a manufacturing hub and a business partner of global economic powers, the position
which was held by them earlier. The other reason could be to divert the attention of China’s population from
the economic breakdown caused due to COVID-19 as well as the denunciation of China as the creator of
coronavirus by the world and evoke nationalist sentiments in them. Indian construction of a new road in
Lipulekh region of Uttarakhand which runs near Tibet and India’s friendship with the US, Australia and
Japan who happen to be China’s adversaries has also antagonised the dragon.
The Abominable Altercation
On 15th June, a team of Indian soldiers were sent to check on compliance of the decision at Moldo by the
Chinese side only to find arctic tents constructed in Galwan valley near Patrolling point 14 (PP14) of
Indian Army so that China could have an unobstructed view of the DSDBO road. The Commanding Officer
of 16 Bihar Regiment with his team went to the other side to ensure compliance where they were attacked
by spiked clubs and iron rods. The fight heightened into an intensified physical scuffle resulting in casualties
and fatalities on both sides. Atleast 20 Indian soldiers and 35 Chinese soldiers (assumed figure) were
martyred during the course of this fisticuff and caused destruction of Chinese tents by the Indian Army.
Galwan valley is a region where there is no grey area and a clear border has been agreed upon, which is
why, the building of tents here can be called as ‘encroachment into Indian territory’.
Steps for Settlement
“Whenever the time has come, we have demonstrated our power proving our capabilities in protecting the
integrity and sovereignty of the country”, these were the words of Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
after the clash at Galwan and he also added that the sacrifice of soldiers will not go in vain. Indian External
Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also warned China to take corrective measures but China seemed to pin the
blame on India.
On 18th June, Major General- level talks were held on PP14 to disengagement on different standoff points
but it did not culminate in a fruitful manner. Again, on 22nd June, a second round of Lieutenant General-level
talks were held where a comprehensive review of the entire situation was done with India’s demand of
Chinese withdrawal from all friction areas. On 24th June, virtual diplomatic talks were held under Working
Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs to find ways to ease
tensions on the borders and decided to ‘strictly respect and observe the Line of Actual Control’. Diplomatic
talks came to an end with both countries deciding to disengage and agreeing to maintain peace henceforth.

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding” said Martin Luther king, Jr.
Only understanding among both the countries can resolve tensions on the LAC. The citizens on both sides
anticipate the culmination of issues in peace and friendship for times to come.