Regional Implications of India Reverting to Pre-Galwan Lac Patrolling Terms with China

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Regional Implications of India Reverting to Pre-Galwan Lac Patrolling Terms with China

India and China have agreed to return to the patrolling agreements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that were in place before the Galwan clashes in 2020 after several negotiations. The agreement covers the areas of Depsang and Demchok, according to Indian media reports this week.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar had recently said that around 75 per cent of “disengagement problems” with China had been sorted out and that the key issue now was increasing militarisation of the frontier. “Now, those negotiations are going on. We made some progress... We still have some things to do,” he said.

Jaishankar said that the two countries “gone back to where the situation was in 2020”after the foreign ministry’s announcement. “We can say that the disengagement process with China has been completed. There are areas which for various reasons after 2020 because they had blocked us so we had blocked them. So what has happened is we have reached an understanding, which will allow the patrolling,” he said.

However, the was no mention in particular about withdrawal of tens of thousands of additional troops stationed by the two countries along the border in Ladakh, neither was there any statement from Beijing on the matter

 

Strategic areas

Demchok is close to the southernmost part of the LAC in Ladakh, near the state border with Himachal Pradesh. During the 1962 conflict, a village in the region was the site of Chinese incursion but PLA troops did not venture beyond. This was the first place where China prevented Indian authorities from building civic infrastructure, including a road.

Depsang Plains is a flat area of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in the northwest portion of the disputed Aksai Chin region in the Union territory of Ladakh. The land was occupied by China until India began making headway into the region and now has a road leading to it. The flat terrain allows for easy movement of troops and vehicles, including tanks.

Galwan Valley was the site of clashes in 1962 and is a key strategic area. It is also the place where Shyok and Galwan rivers meet.Ithas India’s Darbuk-Shyok-DBO (DSDBO) road, which leads to DBO — a military base with an airstrip — passes near the valley. The Galwan region provides a a vantage point overlooking the road to DBO for China.

 

Tensions since 2020 clashes

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday the agreement made by Indian and Chinese negotiators after weeks of talks aimed at resolving the issues which arose after the Chinese military’s action in eastern Ladakh in 2020.The two countries’ troops clashed on May 25, 2020, on the north bank of the Pangong Tso lake. Further, there was a major clash on the night of June 15 between an Indian patrol and PLA troops in Galwan Valley with casualties on both sides.

There were satellite images showing China constructing bunkers and trenches and setting up tents along Pangong Tso lake amid claims and counter-claims regarding the capture of Indian territory in May and June 2020. China aggressively built up its presence along the LAC in Ladakh, including by bringing in troops and armoured vehicles.

 

A Wide-Ranging Dispute

The Line of Actual Control was formed after the 1962 Sino-Indian war. But it is not properly demarcated and has been the focus of a long-standing dispute between the two countries. It involves areas stretching from Arunachal in the east to Ladakh in the north.

LAC divides the areas of physical control rather than territorial claims. According to India, the de facto border is 3,488km long, but China says it is considerably shorter.

Beijing claims about 90,000 sq km of India’s territory in the northeast, including in Arunachal, while New Delhi says 38,000 sq km of land in China-occupied Aksai Chin should be part of Ladakh.

(Courtesy: Defence.Capital)

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