(TibetanReview.net, Sep28’24) – China has been demanding patrolling access to two Indian held areas of Arunachal Pradesh during the past four years of discussions on restoring the pre-2020 situation in the eastern Ladakh border region, according to the tribuneindia.com Sep 28. It suggested that China tried to create an eastern Ladakh-like situation there too, to prevent India’s patrolling of its own Tibet-border territory.
The two spots — one in the Yangtse area north-east of Tawang, where the two sides had a deadly clash in Dec 2022, and the second in central Arunachal along the Subansiri river valley — have been firmly under Indian control for decades, the report said.
The Chinese side was stated to have been making the demand during the 21 rounds of talks held over the past four years, to discuss the dispute on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh which arose from China’s incursions in 2020.
Chinese troops have since been denying access to Indian troops to “patrol points” 10, 11, 12 and 13 (also known in military jargon as PP) on this part of the LAC. All of these originate from “the bottleneck”, a geographical feature on the eastern flank of the 972 sq km Depsang plateau, the report said.
Indian government sources, speaking to The Tribune on the condition of anonymity, have said the Chinese demands were “unreasonable” and “devoid of logic”. “The last Indian Army patrol to the PP areas was (undertaken) in Jan 2020,” a source has said.
The report cited Indian government sources as reiterating that the so-called Chinese demand to allow its troops to patrol the two spots in Arunachal Pradesh was not a “quid pro quo”, as both had been in Indian control for decades.
On the other hand, the issue of patrolling PP 10, 11, 12 and 13 in eastern Ladakh is a dispute that cropped up in Apr 2020. Ever since, the two armies have been locked in a military standoff, the report noted.
India’s External Affairs Minister Mr S Jaishankar, speaking at an event in the US on Sep 24, referred to the problems of India’s loss of access to the patrolling areas in eastern Ladakh after the Chinese incursion in 2020.
“The main issue right now is the patrolling,” Jaishankar said, pointing out that the patrolling arrangements since 2020 had been disturbed. He went on to describe the India-China relationship as “significantly disturbed” as a result of it.
The report cited Indian military sources as separately confirming that since Apr 2020, Chinese troops had not allowed Indian soldiers to patrol areas PP 10, 11, 12 and 13. Indian side had patrolled there until the Chinese incursions.
China tried to achieve eastern Ladakh-like situation in Arunachal Pradesh too in 2022. After the Dec 2022 clash at Yangtse, Defence Minister Singh had told Indian Parliament: “The PLA (People’s Liberation Army) troops on Dec 9 tried to transgress the LAC in Yangtse area of Tawang sector and unilaterally change the status quo.”
There were also face-offs in the Yangtse area in the past, a major one being in Oct 2021, the report noted. The Chinese attempt was to get access to the top of the 17,000-foot-high peak that provides a commanding view on both sides of the LAC. India has remained in firm control of the top and its access routes from its own side, the report said.
Elsewhere in Arunachal Pradesh, the two armies have had face-offs in the past at the second spot, in the Subansiri valley in central Arunachal.
Over the past 21 rounds of talks, India was stated to have been suggesting to China a graded three-step process for resolving the Eastern Ladakh issue. The first involves disengagement of troops within close proximity to each other in grey zones along the LAC and getting back to positions as on Apr 2020. The next two steps — de-escalation and de-induction — entail pulling back troops and equipment to the pre-Apr 2020 levels, the report added.