India - "The worst in 30 years"

[Randy W]

in the SCMP

 

China calls border row with India ‘the worst in 30 years’ as both sides dig in heels

 

Beijing hopes stand-off can be solved by diplomacy, but comments by Indian officials ‘had made Beijing suspicious’

Vehicles travel along a mountain road near the Nathu La Pass, a trading post in the Himalayas between India and China in the state of Sikkim. Photo: Bloomberg

Quote

Each side has about 3,000 soldiers facing off across a remote plateau in the pocket of land where Tibet meets Sikkim and Bhutan, Indian media reported citing army sources.

 

Tensions along parts of the 3,500km frontier that China and India share have simmered ever since the two sides fought a brief but bloody war in 1962.

 

The Donglang region has remained a hot spot, under the control of China but keenly watched by New Delhi given its proximity to the narrow strip of territory that connects India’s northeast with the rest of the country.

 

Last month China began building a road on territory also claimed by Bhutan, a move seen as upsetting the status quo. Although China and Bhutan have spent decades negotiating the precise border without serious incident, the tiny Himalayan kingdom sought help this time from its long-time ally, India, which sent troops onto the plateau.

 

. . .

 

“There is suspicion in Delhi that this was a deliberate provocation by China. This incident is being seen as a way to test India’s resolve to defend Bhutan’s security,” she said. “How India handles this incident is important because it could send a message to many small countries in the Indo-Pacific region.”

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

. . . and the Global Times

 

New Delhi’s sabre-rattling at border jeopardizes peace and stability for two sides

 

Editor's Note:

India border guards crossed over the Sikkim section of the China-India border to the China side and triggered a face-off with Chinese troops. What is behind India's decision to provoke a border dispute? What actions should China take to deal with provocation from India? How will this dispute influence the China-India relationship? Global Times reporter Yang Chuchu interviewed two scholars on these issues.

 

 

[Greg.D.]

China is in border disputes on all sides and the one with India is at least as potentially explosive as the tense situation with VN, Philippines, Malaysia, etc in the southeast,

 

Basically, I wouldn't leave my country's headwaters in China's control. They've dammed and reduced the seasonal flow in the Mekong causing salt water to move upriver and salinization of the aquifers (made worse by drought and rising sea levels).

 

There are probably better links:

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/bAlb009roBOntd0SFr3umK/A-water-war-in-Asia-cannot-be-ruled-out.html

 

A water war in Asia cannot be ruled out

"Already, the battle is underway, with China as the main aggressor. Indeed, China’s territorial grab in the South China Sea has been accompanied by a quieter grab of resources in transnational river basins. Re-engineering cross-border riparian flows is integral to China’s strategy to assert greater control and influence over Asia.

 

China is certainly in a strong position to carry out this strategy. The country enjoys unmatched riparian dominance, with 110 transnational rivers and lakes flowing into 18 downstream countries. China also has the world’s most dams, which it has never hesitated to use to curb cross-border flows. In fact, China’s dam builders are targeting most of the international rivers that flow out of Chinese territory."

...

 

"China has also built six mega-dams on the Mekong River, which flows into South East Asia, where the downstream impact is already visible. Yet, instead of curbing its dam-building, China is hard at work building several more Mekong dams."

[Randy W]

from the People's Daily on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesDaily/posts/1593821027336375

 

#PeoplesDailyComments What is India’s intention for illegally crossing the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary...

Posted by People's Daily, China on Thursday, July 6, 2017

 

Quote

#PeoplesDailyComments What is India’s intention for illegally crossing the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary into China’s territory?

 

What would you do if your neighbor intrudes and stays at your courtyard without your permission?

 

China has a neighbor just like that. About 20 days ago, Indian troops crossed the China-India boundary at the Sikkim section and entered the Chinese territory, provoking prevalent attention and anger.

"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," said the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs. They even consider Doklam to be a part of Bhutan. The statement sounds extremely ridiculous, as Bhutan has already admitted China’s sovereignty over the Doklam region and India also knows that very well. The relevant construction is a matter that is within the scope of China's sovereignty. India has violated China’s sovereignty and affected Bhutan’s independence by intruding into Chinese territory and using Bhutan as an excuse.

 

There are multiple reasons behind India’s reckless move. Most importantly, as the talks between China and Bhutan over border issues have been going smoothly, India is worried that it can no longer maintain its effective control over Bhutan. Therefore, India seeks to get involved and disrupt China’s relation with Bhutan to “protect Bhutan”.

 

Bhutan was unaware of the cross-border actions of Indian border troops beforehand. The media in Bhutan have long been criticizing India’s interference in its domestic affairs. Their infuriation should be understood. After all, no one country in the world is willing to be a bargaining chip or puppet in the hands of others.

 

India has severely violated the basic principles of the International Law and trampled the ground rules of international relations. China has long been an advocate of peaceful settlement of disputes, and has yet taken any coercive action. That does not mean that China takes no initiative on border issues. India will pay a heavy price over its behavior if it continues its provocation.

 

(This commentary is from the editorial board of the People's Daily)

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Allon]

It is no wonder a lot of the reading I do about China's government structure rates the Propaganda Ministry at the top of everything else, including the Chairman of the CCP. Even Mao cringed when that ministry spoke.

 

I hope this does not end up in war because I think China will re-learn how to lose. India is no paper tiger.

[Randy W]

Some reading material here, if you're interested - in the SCMP, but it might as well be from the Global Times. But it does provide a good history.

 

 

THIS IS INDIA’S CHINA WAR, ROUND TWO

The absurd myth of an ‘unprovoked Chinese aggression’ in 1962 has fermented in India a persistent longing for revenge

 

 

To give an idea of the tone of this dissertation -

 

Rather than let the LAC mature with the passing years, India has been needling Beijing by taking such doll figures as the Dalai Lama and loud-mouthed American diplomats into the disputed border region India proclaims to be its state of Arunachal Pradesh, and megaphoning the false claim that the McMahon alignment represents a legal boundary rather than a historical but contested claim. The McMahon Line in fact rests on a British diplomatic forgery, long exposed. This may be another indication that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that India’s interest will be served better in an aggressive American alliance rather than in a neighbourly relationship with China.

 

 

 

About the author

 

Neville Maxwell, who covered the 1962 China-India border war as the South Asia correspondent for The Times, is the author of India’s China War. In March 2014, Maxwell leaked the Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report, an Indian government report from 1963 examining India’s defeat in the Sino-Indian War that is yet to be declassified.

 

[Randy W]

Sometimes it just takes a map to lay it all off. I'm still not sure that I understand where everything is, but this lays it all out - from the SCMP

 

In this map, the area in dispute extends all the way out to the "China border claim" line, which is well inside of what Bhutan claims.

 

But the area of concern at the moment is along the corridor between Batang La and Gymochen and China's building of a road in the Doklam Plateau.

 

Explore the China-India border standoff

A long-standing border dispute between China and India flared last month after India opposed a Chinese attempt to extend a road in a contested area. Here is a look at the area in dispute

 

[Allon]

This reminds me of another hot spot -- the Khyber Pass. It is currently under protection by the Pakistani government and it is a very strategic pass to many areas of the region and India. It does not help relations between the two countries.

 

My Dad was a SAC war planner for most of his career. He traveled extensively in that area. He never would elucidate his interest in the Pass even though at one time I held a TS clearance. I suspect it was a secondary potential target if the wrong people got hold of that pass, even though it is not really that easy to pass through without a camel. (Kidding. The British installed "tiger's teeth," basically tank traps, to prevent the Germans from attacking India through that pass in WWII.)

 

It is now an important trade route and logistical supply area for our troops in Afghanistan. We (USA) do a lot of business there and the people that handle the logistics don't talk much about it where I work. There is a lot of stolen equipment and paid bribes to "protect" the convoys. (The history of the Pass is really interesting if you want to continue. I am sure there are more links.)

 

https://www.britannica.com/place/Khyber-Pass

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khyber_Pass

[amberjack1234]

Good reading. Every day that you don't learn something is a day wasted.

[Randy W]

“People are asking, if China is really peaceful, why are there so many countries having disputes with China?” - in the SCMP

 

China’s tough stance on India dispute raising concern across Southeast Asia, analysts say

Beijing’s handling of protracted conflict in Himalayas has had a spillover effect in the region and fuelled suspicion

 

Such sentiment may create fertile ground for Southeast Asian countries to leverage China’s influence with engagement with India.

Vietnam’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister, Pham Binh Minh, has called on India to play a greater role in the region and to partner with Southeast Asian countries on strategic security and promoting freedom of navigation in South China Sea.

 

 

[Greg.D.]

Duterte, Xi, Modi, nationalism all around, things that go "bang" .... what can go wrong?

[Greg.D.]

Seems like India blinked: India, China agree to pull back from tense border dispute, but terms unclear

 

 

BEIJING — India has begun withdrawing troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-armed Asian rivals.

..

 

On Monday, the two sides announced they had reached an agreement. But it was unclear if Beijing offered any concessions in return, such as agreeing to halt the construction of the road.

China said only that it would redeploy its forces according to the changing situation, but would continue to patrol and garrison the area — as well as exercise its sovereign rights.

 

In a short statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the two countries had maintained diplomatic communication over the dispute in recent weeks.

 

“During these communications, we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests,” it said. “On this basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is on-going.”

 

 

In India, some experts also interpreted the statements — and New Delhi’s comments about having raised its security concerns — to mean that China had quietly agreed to stop building the road in question, but would not say so publicly.

 

“I very much doubt that India would have agreed to withdraw unless it involved, at the very least, a commitment from Beijing that it would halt construction of the disputed road,” said Shashank Joshi, an analyst with the Royal United Services Institute in London.

[Randy W]

Yes - I think both India and China have acknowledged the pullback, so it must be official.

 

Can't be putting all those one-child children at risk!

[Allon]

Good news, at least for a while. War is not a healthy thing.

[Randy W]

In the Global Times - sounds like they HAVE stopped building the road, at least temporarily, but don't want to admit it.

 

China's border troops to continue to patrol Doklam: FM

"Conditions such as weather would determine China's infrastructure plan in the Doklam area," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"To meet the needs and improve the working and living conditions of the local army and residents, China has been working on a long-term infrastructure plan in Doklam, such as building roads," Hua said.

China announced that India had pulled back its troops and equipment to the Indian side of the boundary, and that Chinese border troops will continue to patrol the Doklam area, Hua noted.

. . .

Doklam, or Dong Lang, which borders India's Sikkim state to the west and Bhutan to the south, is part of Chinese territory and has been under Chinese rule for a very long time.