India and China are again on the border. If China is an emerging superpower, India's military and political power is increasing. But in some things, India seems very weak.
There have also been reports that there have been reports that China has encroached on the border of India. Although more troops of the Indian Army are being deployed along the border, it seems very difficult to push China back to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
According to reports, the skirmish between India and China started with the Indian Army building a road in its part of the LAC. After this, small disputes in various places took a serious form in the last few weeks.
The biggest reason for the border dispute between India and China is that China does not recognize the McMahon Line. He believes that this boundary line set by the British is not correct. But China has no refrain in following this line with Myanmar. The border between India and China is divided into three sectors - Western, Central, and East. This has been done for ease of resolving border disputes, apart from geographical reasons.
If we look at the main places of dispute, the middle sector is more or less silent. But in both the western and eastern sectors, there are disputes between the forces of India and China over the encroachment and patrolling of the border. Some of these big issues reach the media and general public.
India's weakness
In the Indo-China war of 1962, India suffered a lot in the western sector and part of Aksachin went under the occupation of China. The western sector is very important for India from a strategic point of view because in this sector, India has to face challenges on both the China and Pakistan fronts. Apart from the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan, one of the major reasons for concern for India is China's watch over Ladakh.
On the other hand, the border dispute in the eastern sector is related to the issue of Tibet, Tawang and the Dalai Lama. China claims Arunachal Pradesh in India and calls it “Southern Tibet”. In addition to issuing stapled visas to the residents of Arunachal Pradesh, China has also been opposed to the Arunachal visits by ministers of the central government.
Strategically, India has been in a weak position in the western sector since 1962. In the last few years, the Indian Army has tried to build a road for the smooth movement of its troops and logistics. China does not want to let this happen and whenever India tries to build road and infrastructure, China gets upset and due to this, there is a clash between the two forces.
Part of eastern Ladakh is disputed between India and China because there is no agreement between the two countries on the border. This is the reason why in recent times, differences of opinion on LAC were considered to be the cause of controversy. India wants China to go back to the situation before the encroachment and diplomatic efforts are going on for this. Although it is not so easy to be.
Since the removal of Article 370 in India's Jammu and Kashmir, China has been troubled because it knows that the central government's control over Jammu and Kashmir will strengthen India on the Indo-China border. One reason for this is that China also has a vested interest in the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. In 1963, under the agreement between Pakistan and China, Pakistan illegally gave about 5000 square kilometers of the disputed area to China.
Whenever India and Pakistan try to resolve the Kashmir issue, the issue of Chinese occupation will also come to the fore. China would never want to leave this part of the strategic point of view. This was also a major reason behind the raising of the Section 370 issue by China in the United Nations.
What will india do
China's hand is also seen behind the sudden border dispute with Nepal. The Indian Army Chief has also confirmed this indirectly. It is clear from this that border dispute is not the only reason behind India's concerns related to China. There is no doubt that China does not want to allow India to become strong on the border in any way, but this time the boundary dispute should also be linked to India's reactions to Nepal and Kovid-19.
Although the Indo-China border dispute has not been officially linked to Taiwan's support in the World Health Organization and China's opposition to many countries, including India, China's dealings with countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam have been It seems that somewhere behind this clash on the border is to divert attention from Kovid-19 and disturb India.
Here the question arises what can India do to deal with China. Can India also provoke any neighbor of China. Experts believe that India can take such counter-action in the South-China Sea, but the ground truth is that India is not in a position to be able to do such a thing in South-East Asia alone. This is also because India has a weaker grip than China. Despite wanting to be involved in the South China Sea dispute with China, most countries in South-East Asia have shied away from being directly involved in any anti-China work with India and other countries.
With whom is America?
India's friendly relations with America hold a very important place in terms of China strategically and strategically. China is concerned with the growing friendship between India and America, which has been reflected in the statements of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the last several years. In the past too, when the US President Donald Trump expressed the desire to mediate between India and China, the Chinese government immediately swung into action and talks were made to resolve the dispute peacefully with India.
Clearly, for India, the US and its allies can act as a protective shield against China. The quadrilateral or quad between the US, Japan, Australia and India is meant to deal with China's aggressive attitude, but in the last more than ten years India has not paid much attention to it.
Indian governments have been thinking that more military and strategic proximity to the US and the Quad would not be good to build relations with China. The same incorrect assessment was done in the meetings held in Wuhan and Mamallapuram between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping and the result is in front of everyone today. Due to this wavering attitude of India, other countries are also moving away from the quad. Along with talks with China, India should not only focus on the quad but also take part in it.
Role of media
A major weakness of India-China relations is that either the Indian media and most policymakers become overly optimistic about China or very negative. It is as if Hindi-Chinese is either brother or brother or it is not possible to develop India without wiping out China. This policy is not correct and far-sighted.
Decisions of foreign policy and even more military-strategic policy cannot be taken in the spirit. Understanding China in both situations, friend or foe, is important and at the same time it is important to have strategic and strategic cooperation with the US and other countries so that China cannot show itself as a bully.
To deal with China, first of all, every aspect of its society, foreign policy and strategic policy will have to be deeply understood, and at the same time India will also have to work continuously on the fundamental dimensions of its border, strategic policy and security.
Article was first published on DW.com Hindi version
Last Update: 11/11/2021