Sino-Indian ties, already beset with acrimony and discord, took another hit last week after Indian troops stopped Chinese attempts to build a road near the Sikkim-Bhutan border. What led to this
stand-off and the subsequent rancour and sabre-rattling? Could it escalate into a full-blown conflict?
Perhaps it’s America. Perhaps it’s badminton,” joked a senior Indian diplomat, when asked about the Chinese intrusion into Bhutan last week and the subsequent face-off with Indian forces. He was referring to Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth’s recent victory over Olympic and two-time world champion Chen Long at the Australian Open Superseries final in Sydney, and PV Sindhu’s win against Sun Yu of China in the finals of China Open, making her the third non-Chinese athlete to win that tournament in the last 30 years.
But jokes aside, the already strained Sino-Indian ties took another hit last week after Indian troops stopped Chinese attempts to build a road near the Sikkim-Bhutan border. And in an unprecedented role reversal, China has demanded that India remove its soldiers from ‘Chinese territory’. The last time such a request was made was probably way back in the early 1960s following Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s “forward policy”, aimed at staking claim to disputed areas of the Sino-India border. But since the brief yet decisive border war of 1962, it has mostly been India accusing the PLA of “transgressions” or “intrusions” on Indian soil.
Even more unprecedented is the fact that the “Chinese territory’’ from which Beijing wants Indian troops withdrawn, is controlled by Bhutan, that calls it the Doklam Plateau. China, however, calls it the Donglang region, and insists that the area—near the tri-junction of Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet—belongs to Tibet.
This 270 sq km plateau extends to the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction overlooking the vulnerable Chicken’s Neck, or the Siliguri Corridor, a narrow stretch of land flanked by Nepal in the west, Bangladesh in the east, and Bhutan in the north. Anyone controlling the area could completely sever northeastern India from the mainland.
The Indian Army not only trains the Royal Bhutan Army, but also conducts joint patrols along the Bhutan-China border. Initial reports said that a Chinese road-building party in the area had been challenged by such a joint patrol, forcing them to stop. The next day, Chinese troops responded by razing a deserted Indian outpost near Sikkim. It also blocked a batch of some 50 pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La—a pass in Sikkim few kilometres from Nathu La—and said the “route’s reopening entirely depends on whether the Indian side can correct its mistakes in a timely manner.” Nathu La was opened to pilgrims in 2015. Pilgrims taking the older and longer route from Uttarakhand have not been stopped so far.
“This time the Indian side needs to be taught the rules,” threatened an editorial in the Global Times. Bhutan, which does not have diplomatic relations with China, also issued a demarche to Beijing, claiming Doklam as its own. “Doklam has been part of China since ancient times... It does not belong to Bhutan, still less India. China’s construction of road in Doklam is an act of sovereignty on its own territory,” declared a Chinese foreign ministry official.
In a tersely worded clarification on June 30, India “underlined that the two Governments had in 2012 reached agreement that the tri-junction boundary points between India, China and third countries will be finalised in consultation with the concerned countries. Any attempt, therefore, to unilaterally determine tri-junction points is in violation of this understanding. India is deeply concerned at the recent Chinese actions and has conveyed to the Chinese government that such construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India.”
All this comes at a time when bilateral relations are already strained over India’s refusal to buy into China’s grand Belt and Road initiative, and Beijing’s constant veto of India’s efforts to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group and get Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar declared a terrorist at the UN. New Delhi allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh earlier this year despite howls of Chinese protests hasn’t been forgotten. It also comes at a time when India has clearly aligned with the United States over issues like maritime navigation rights in the South China Sea and the need to adhere to international treaties.
The fact that this incident blew up just around the time that Modi was exchanging bear hugs and extended handshakes with US President Donald Trump is perhaps no coincidence. “China is trying to tell us in no uncertain terms that America will not and cannot help us if they start needling us here on the border,” says Lieutenant General (retd) J S Bajwa, the editor of Indian Defence Review and the author of a seminal book on the People’s Liberation Army. “But we should not let them push us around.”
That is apparently the message Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, who reached Gangtok in Sikkim on Thursday as part of a visit to a number of other formation headquarters in the Northeast, conveyed to top commanders posted in the region.
“The recent spate of PLA incursions into India and Bhutan are hardly isolated incidents,” Maura Moynihan wrote in the Epoch Times in 2013. In 1962, she noted, Mao Zedong prophesied that China would one day conquer Tibet’s ‘Five Fingers’: the Indian territories of Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunchal, and the nations of Bhutan and Nepal... “Take Beijing’s word for it: They are ready,” she declared.
Most Indian analysts, however, dismiss the possibility of events escalating into an armed conflict, saying neither side can afford it. But some also say that China is somewhat taken aback by India’s decision to come to Bhutan’s aid, and that given Beijing’s ‘unforgiving’ and unpredictable nature, India better be ready too.
One War, Several Battles in the High Himalayas
The beginning: January 1950
India establishes diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China, becoming the second non-communist nation to do so. In October, China occupies Tibet. Border clashes with India erupt in 1954 after New Delhi discovers that China had built a road through Aksai Chin, which India claims.
March 1959
The Dalai Lama, spiritual and temporal head of Tibetans, reaches India. Accusing India of interference, China claims huge swathes of India.
October 1962
China launches a two-pronged attack on India, from Ladakh and Arunachal, then part of India’s Northeast Frontier Agency. War ends on November 21, 1962 with China declaring a unilateral ceasefire and withdrawing behind the original lines. India withdraws posts from Aksai Chin, giving China control of the region.
September 1967
Indian and Chinese troops trade fire at Nathu La in Sikkim (then an Indian protectorate), after India repulsed Chinese intruders trying to stake claim to the region. Days later, another exchange of firing occurs in Cho La, north of Nathu La. Estimates of fatalities range from 150-600 in the two incidents.
July 1976
Ties are re-established for the first time since the 1962 war. In 1986, China intrudes into Arunachal and constructs a helipad. Early 1987, large-scale troop movements are reported on both sides with Western diplomats even predicting war. By the summer of 1987, after India’s strong stand, both sides back away from conflict. And in 1988, Rajiv Gandhi becomes the first Indian PM to visit China after Nehru’s 1954 Hindi Chini Bhai-Bhai romance.
April 2013
China intrudes into Daulat Beg Oldi, Ladakh, the Depsang plains of Aksai Chin and Arunachal. The Depsang incursion is 19-km deep. China backs off after 21 days. In July 2016, China intrudes into Uttarakhand, part of the ‘middle sector’ which it didn’t enter even during the 1962 war. China has also repeatedly violated Indian airspace in this sector in 2017.
June 2017
Sino-Indian ties take another hit after India stops Chinese attempts to build a road near the
Sikkim-Bhutan border.
‘On the Border, PLA Plays Kho-Kho’
The infamous transgression in Depsang ‘subtly’ choreographed to coincide with the visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping to India in 2013 is truly the strangest act of ‘military diplomacy’ in recent history! Later again in Chumar, Chinese troops, for the first time, adopted the ‘jostling’ tactic. This involved pushing forward by leaning with their dead weight on anyone stopping them, and quickly sitting down on the ground if they felt they were yielding ground. And when they saw a chance they leapt forward and sat down further inside – call it ‘kho-kho’ tactics! ... A traditional Indian rural sport now adopted and adapted by the PLA. The troops of both sides were sans any personal weapons. The same tactic has been applied in Doklam. India treads a heavily mined path to stake its rightful place in the comity of nations; it will be subjected to such barbs and jostling. The place at the summit is always limited. I sincerely hope that petty politicking does not let India down.
Lt Gen J S Bajwa (retd)
Editor, Indian Defence Review
‘India Must Handle Situation Firmly’
The last face-off was nearly five decades ago in the same area, and the army records indicate that there were heavy casualties on the Chinese side. The independent policies pursued by Modi to engage the US, Japan and other western powers is being seen by China as actions aimed at challenging China’s aspirations to be a global power replacing the US. Modi’s government has concentrated on strengthening the much-neglected infrastructure and military capability in the North East much to the consternation of the Chinese leadership. China is also peeved that India has not endorsed its OBOR initiative. It has no qualms in investing heavily in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a disputed area, while advocating maintenances of status quo on South China Sea where there are multiple disputes. It is obvious that the recent provocation along the Sikkim border is not a sudden development but a response to some of the recent initiatives by Modi which can alter the strategic balance ... it is clear that India has to handle the situation firmly and stand up to the designs of the aggressive neighbour who does not hesitate to buttress its claims by use of force.
Commodore R S Vasan
Director, Chennai Centre for China Studies