Securing Himalayan borders

Dr Muhammad Khan

A deeper study of Sino-India border dispute would reveal that China desires to secure its Himalayan border with India before it assumes the role of a global power. While Beijing is wishing to secure its Himalayan borders, New Delhi has revived its old strategy of expansionism and exploitation. Since late 1950s, China claims 90,000 square kilometres of territory in Himalayan region which Beijing believes is illegally occupied by India. China claims Arunachal Pradesh, the Buddhist Indian state as part of Tibet. Chinese claim is based on historical facts; maps and references. On its part, India claims 38,000 square kilometres area in Aksai Chin, currently under the control of China. This area is historically part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, currently disputed between India and Pakistan. The current military clash between India and China erupted after India unilaterally changed the status of Jammu and Kashmir State into union territories and annexed it into Indian Union illegally. Since it was against the wishes of people of the state and in violation of the United Nations resolutions, therefore it was severely resented by China. China wants that the disputed status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir should be maintained until it is resolved as per UN resolutions.

Historically, the Nehru’s version of “Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai” (India and China are brothers) strategy did not last long since it had covert Indian designs of expansionism in Himalayan region where both countries share huge border over 4056 kilometres (including 3488 LAC). The Indo-China border includes; western LAC, the small undisputed section in the centre, and the McMahon Line in the east. It traverses along disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir (Ladakh region), Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. After establishment of their diplomatic relationship in 1950, there was an abrupt warming-up in the bilateral relationship of both countries. Since this intimacy was based on Indian strategy therefore, soon it started exploiting China on the issue of Tibet. The Indian instigated anti-Chinese and anti-Communist revolt in Lhasa in March 1959 was badly crushed by PLA, since all efforts for maintaining peace and tranquillity between Peking and Lhasa failed. Following the forceful over-powering of Lhasa revolt by PLA, the 14th Dalai Lama, a political and spiritual leader of the Tibet fled to India. In subsequent move, China formally announced the dissolution of the Kashag (the Tibetan local government), putting political power in Tibet into the hands of the “Preparatory Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region.” After establishing in India with over 7000 Buddhist refugees, New Delhi established a Tibetan Government in Exile with 14th Dalai Lama as its head.
Indian strategic leadership under Prime Minister Nehru wrongly assumed that, it would coax the Chinese through covert and overt means for its long-term expansionist agenda which include all countries along the Indian borders. Since China had yet to establish itself after Communist Revolution in 1949, therefore, India made its first attempts (inroads into Tibet) in 1950. However, PLA undone the Dalai Lama’s attempts to keep this region as an independent state between India and China. Later a Seventeen Point Agreement, called the Agreement of the Central People’s Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet was signed between Central People’s Government and Dalai Lama in 1951, affirming Chinese sovereignty over Tibet.
In a bid to secure its interests in Tibet, India lost a sizeable portion of its occupied land in the disputed region of Ladakh during Sino-India war of 1962. The Galwan Valley military escalation of May-June 2020 was indeed a re-start of the Indian expansionist agenda. It was a collective bid by Indian political leadership and Indian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS); the ambitious echelons of the Indian hard liners. To their bad luck that, this malevolent leadership failed to achieve its ill-will. There was a basic contradiction in the statement of Prime Minister Modi and his Military commanders. Initially New Delhi claimed Chinese incursion into the disputed region of Aksai Chin (Galwan Valley). However, later upon loss of 20 Indian soldiers at the hands of PLA, Indian leadership changed the statement. Prime Minister Modi issued new statement that neither India lost an inch of territory nor there any Chinese incursion took place into Indian occupied territory. Upon question of the opposition that, how and why Indian Army lost 20 soldiers, Modi and his ambiguities team had no answer. They claimed that, Indian Army killed over 40 Chinese soldiers and taught Chinese Army (PLA) a lesson which they would never forget. It means India lost its soldiers in an attempt to attack Chinese posts; an expansionist agenda. Indeed, while China is trying to secure its Himalayan borders with India, the latter is trying to expand all along LAC, setting a dangerous trend.