India sends more troops to disputed border with China as Asian company condemns strengthening military presence

The Indian military chief said China sends troops Its controversial boundary “In considerable numbers”, What caused it New Delhi’s equivalent stabilization describes a development as “worrying”.

Tensions are high between nuclear-armed neighbors After a Deadly border war June last year was of strategic importance Kalwan River Valley in the Ladakh region of India, Near Tibet.

The two most populous countries in the world sent tens of thousands of additional troops to the highlands of the Himalayas. After the conflict.

General Manoj Mukund Narawane told reporters in Ladakh on Saturday The presence of Chinese forces on the 3,500-kilometer border (2,200 miles) This has increased “in significant numbers” and “caused concern.”

Naravane said thus The Indian Army is increasing its forces on the border in retaliation. “We have also installed advanced weapons. We are strong and ready to face any situation, ”the newspaper quoted him as saying. Times of India.

India and China are maintaining Military negotiations Naravane said high-level after the June clash and another meeting is expected next week.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said his comments came a few days later. Hua Chunying will accuse Indian soldiers of illegally crossing the border into ChinaAccording to New Delhi, the allegation is “really baseless”.

Local media reported the news last week, citing unidentified sources About 100 Chinese soldiers crossed the border into Uttarakhand Several hours at the end of August.

India and China, engaged in a full-scale border war in 1962, have long accused each other of trying to seize borders. Its unofficial border is called the Royal Line of Control.

A long history of tensions

The conflict between India and China developed into a former independent country. There have been controversies over regional boundaries since the time of the British Raj. In 1914, the British delegates reached an agreement with the then Kingdom of Tibet, which established McMahon Castle as a division.. But China, which later occupied Tibet, never ratified the agreement and claims about 90,000 square kilometers of land.

After India gained independence, efforts to normalize bilateral relations were soon frustrated. In 1959, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru paid an important official visit to Beijing.. When asked by Nehru about the boundaries that appeared on the official Chinese maps, Prime Minister Sa En Enloi replied that his government did not accept the colonial boundary. Three years later, the Sino-Indian war broke out.

After the Tibetan uprising in 1959, when India granted asylum to the Dalai Lama, the political and spiritual leader of Tibet, several conflicts erupted on the border. It prompted India to launch an offensive policy, which included setting up border outposts, including north of the McMahon Line. After several failed diplomatic attempts, Chinese forces invaded the Indian territory of Ladakh on October 20, 1962.

Most of the fighting took place in extreme mountain conditions, with altitudes above 4,000 meters and temperatures below zero.. It had the distinction of being a modern war that took place entirely between ground forces, without military air traffic, due to inaccessibility of the terrain.

The war ended on November 20, 1962, when China declared a ceasefire. Thousands died on the Indian side in just four weeks. Although Chinese forces retreated, they were able to capture Aksai Chin, a strategic route connecting Tibet with western China. Like the nearby Shokskam Valley in north Kashmir, Delhi claims the entire area as its own.

Five years later, there was a clash on the Nathu La mountain pass in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim.It is located between Bhutan, Chinese Tibet and Nepal. During the series of clashes, including the exchange of artillery, up to 80 Indian soldiers and up to 400 Chinese were killed.

The last crossing was in 1975, in which shots and deaths were recorded. This is called Tulung La ambush. Four Indian soldiers were killed in a shootout with Chinese troops That pass is located in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Delhi has accused Beijing of trespassing into India, but China has denied the allegations.

From that moment on, 42 years of relationship peace passed, until the tension reappeared in 2017. For months, India and China have been engaged in high-level conflict without firing in Bhutan’s Doklam region., After the Indian Army sent troops to prevent China from building a highway in the area. The Doklam Plateau is strategic because China provides access to what is called the “chicken neck” of a thin strip of land that connects the northeastern states of China with the rest of the country. It is claimed by both China and Bhutan, India’s allies. The expansion came after lengthy high-level negotiations.

The epidemic was not enough for the parties to decide to suspend their differences for a period of time. Temperatures began to rise in May 2020, After several Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a tall fist fight on the Sikkim state border. The Indian government claimed that Chinese forces had occupied the western border fort of the Ladakh region, and as a result decided to mobilize its troops for enemy positions.

(With information from AFP)

Continue reading: