India China border standoff continues – Burning Issues – Free PDF Download

• The India-China border has been witnessing tensions over the past month, with incidents reported in at least four different locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• The Chinese troops have “come in” about 3 km into Indian territory South East of the Galwan Valley, largely known as Hot Springs area in eastern Ladakh.

• Chinese have brought in a large number of Border Defence Regiment (BDR) troops at various positions along the LAC. About 1,200-1,300 troops have come in at multiple locations even though the figures have varied.
• India too has moved troops in these areas along with logistics set up which includes tents.

FINGER AREAS OF PANGONG LAKE

•  Sources in the know said that Beijing has also moved in men at the “finger areas” of Pangong Lake while increasing build up on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• The Pangong Lake’s northern bank juts forward like a palm, and the various protrusions are identified as “fingers” to demarcate territory.

FINGER AREA DOMINATION IS WORRISOME

• While India asserts that the LAC starts at Finger 8, the Chinese claim it starts at Finger 2.
• During the Kargil battle when troops were diverted from the area to fight Pakistan, China had stepped in and built a motorable road at Finger 4.
• Sources said India, which “dominates” Finger 2, has been trying to construct a road further over the past few years that would have provided soldiers with the capability to move in vehicles and faster.

WHY DO FACE-OFFS OCCUR?

They mainly occur in areas along the LAC. The LAC has never been demarcated.

1. Face-offs occur when patrols encounter each other in the contested zones between overlapping claim lines.
2. Protocols agreed to in 2005 and 2013 detail rules of engagement to prevent such incidents, but have not always been adhered to.

PERCEPTIONS REGARDING LAC DIFFER

• Sources said that contrary to inputs of a large Chinese troop presence at Galwan Valley, the build-up is within the Chinese Claim Line (CCL), which is also considered as the LAC at local level.
• Sources told that the Chinese have not crossed their CCL in these areas but they did accept that these areas are about 3 km within India’s perception of the LAC.

‘NO MAPS IN THE AREA’

•  The patrol points in these areas are named by numbers and Indian troops, a mix of Army and the ITBP personnel, patrol these points from time to time.
• “No maps have been exchanged in this area between India and China demarcating what is the LAC,”.
• “Whatever understanding that is there is between the two Army at local level.”

WHY HAS NOT THE LAC BEEN CLARIFIED?

•  India has long proposed an exercise to clarify differing perceptions of the LAC to prevent such incidents.
• Maps were exchanged in the Middle Sector, but the exercise fell through in the Western Sector where divergence is the greatest.
• China has since rejected this exercise, viewing it as adding another complication to the on-going boundary negotiations.

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