(TibetanReview.net, Jul06’24) – With each side looking for the other side to make concessions, the Sino-India border dispute along Chinese occupied Tibet, and, as a result of it, the turbulence in overall relations between India and China appear to be set to remain prolonged.
Still, diplomats from India and China will soon meet to make yet another attempt to reach an agreement on mutual withdrawal of troops from the remaining face-off points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, reported deccanherald.com Jul 4. The stumbling block remains China’s stubborn refusal to withdraw its troops from their 2020 incursion areas, claiming the territory belongs to it on the basis of its claim over occupied Tibet.
The decision followed a meeting between India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, Capital of Kazakhstan, on Jul 4 when they agreed that the bilateral Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs should hold another meeting soon.
The report cited a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi as saying the two ministers also agreed the military commanders of both sides would continue to meet to take forward discussions to “resolve the remaining issues” along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
However, India has effectively reiterated its rejection of China’s oft repeated insistence that the two sides normalize bilateral ties while talks for the settlement of the heavily deployed border standoff continues with no apparent end in sight.
“Discussed early resolution of remaining issues in border areas. Agreed to redouble efforts through diplomatic and military channels to that end. Respecting the LAC and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential,” Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter) after meeting Wang, adding: “The three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity, and mutual interest – will guide our bilateral ties.”
Though protracted negotiations have led to mutual withdrawal of troops from some of the face-off points along the LAC, like Galwan Valley, the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra Post, and Hot Springs, the stand-off could not be resolved completely so far.
Herders in Ladakh have complained that as a result of the already agreed withdrawals of troops, swathes of grazing land over which they had freely roamed for ages with their herds had become off-limits as they had been declared demilitarized zones.
Besides, the report noted that Chinese PLA troops deployed in Depsang, well inside the territory of India along the LAC, were continuing to block the Indian Army’s access to Patrolling Points 10, 11, 12, 12A, and 13. It added that a face-off is also continuing in Demchok.
China’s position thus far is that the mutual withdrawal of troops by the Chinese PLA and the Indian Army from Patrolling Point 15 (Gogra-Hotsprings area) in Sep 2022 marked the restoration of normalcy along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
The claim seen as an attempt by China to subtly build up pressure on India to accept the “new normal” in the Depsang and Demchok areas. The report said Wang reiterated this during his meeting with Jaishankar.
However, India has refused to budge, insisting that China must vacate its troops from these areas to restore the pre-2020 status quo.
In this matter, India’s China policy and its stance on the boundary issues have remained unchanged in the past few years, and there are no major adjustments or substantial changes from the Indian side to be seen at present, China’s official globaltimes.cn Jul, 5 cited Long Xingchun, a professor at the School of International Relations at Sichuan International Studies University, as saying.
“India has been demanding that China make concessions regarding the border issues,” Long has asserted.