August 20, 2020
Another round of India-China talks to end border impasse fail
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
India and China held another round of talks on Thursday in an effort to end the more than a three-month-long Ladakh standoff.
This was the fifth diplomatic-level talk since the stand-offs started in early May when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a fist fight.
The talks were held under the aegis of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India and China border. Joint secretary rank officers of the two countries discussed ways to break the logjam and pave for another episode of military-level talks at a senior level in the coming days.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the two sides had a “candid and in-depth” exchange of views on the existing situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“The two sides were in agreement that restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas would be essential for the overall development of bilateral relations,” Srivastava said at an online media briefing.
China increases surveillance on Army's central sector
The India-China diplomatic talks were held amid reports that China has increased its surveillance on the central sector of the Indian Army.
China has upgraded its surveillance system on the other side of Tun-Jun-La near Barahoti in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, according to Indian intelligence reports. India's border is till Tun-jun-la, three kilometres ahead of Barahoti. During the current tensions between India and China, China upgraded its surveillance devices across the LAC.
According to the report, China has installed two cameras rotating up to 180 degrees near the LAC. It has also installed several kinds of poles in that area. China has also built a large solar panel and a windmill in the area.
A small hut has been built in the area where different types of construction materials have also been kept, including surveillance. A surveillance system was installed in Tun Jun La (Barahoti) in September 2019 which was upgraded in June. This system and camera have been positioned in such a way that the PLA of China can keep an eye on the entire area of Barahoti.
What is the Line of Actual Control?
The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km, Sushant Singh of Hindustan Times wrote on July 30, 2020.
It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.
The major disagreements are in the western sector. After India’s devastating defeat in the 1962 War, the Chinese said they had withdrawn to 20 km behind the LAC of November 1959. During the Doklam crisis in 2017, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged India to abide by the 1959 LAC.
During his visit to China in May 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal to clarify the LAC was rejected by the Chinese, according to Sushant Singh.
Interestingly, perception of Line of Control is not the same. India’s claim line is the line seen in the official boundary marked on the maps as released by the Survey of India, including both Aksai Chin and Gilgit-Baltistan. In China’s case, it corresponds mostly to its claim line, but in the eastern sector, it claims entire Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet.
The LAC is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map or demarcated on the ground, Sushant Singh said.
Ladakh Standoff
The border tension between India and China escalated on June 15 when 20 Indian Army personnel were killed after violent clashes with Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh.
India is working on making a new road from Manali to Leh, which will provide the third link between the high altitude mountainous Ladakh territory and the rest of the country, in an effort to rush troops and tanks to the Pakistan and China front in Ladakh without being observed by the enemy, according to news agency PTI.
India is also working on providing alternative connectivity to the strategically important Sub-Sector North including the Daulat Beg Oldi and other areas there for the last three years and work has already started from the world`s highest motorable road Khardung La pass.
The road will save almost three to four hours journey time while travelling from Manali to Leh and will also not leave any scope for the Pakistanis or other adversaries to monitor the movement of the Indian Army while deploying troops and heavy weaponry like tanks and artillery guns to the Ladakh area from other locations, they said.
Likewise, to provide alternatives to the strategic Durbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road, India is working on further developing the old summer route on which caravans used to reach eastern Ladakh areas from the western side.
Senior sources said that the 14 Corps was given the responsibility of finding an alternative to the DSDBO road and check the road coming from near the Siachen camp towards the DBO area, and one unit was sent through there on a trial basis.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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