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The two rival nuclear powers, China and India, are fighting openly for their border line in the Himalayas. Soldiers were even recently killed. Can the conflict be contained?
By Bernd Musch-Borowska, ARD Studio New Delhi
Fights between the Indian and Chinese border guards began in May. Cell phone videos were spread on social media of massive fights on the Galwan River, which cuts through the arid rocky landscape in the western section of the Himalayas and marks the “LAC Royal Line of Control”, the unofficial border between the Indian territory of high mountain of Ladakh and the autonomous community controlled by China. Tibet region.
Even in June, shots were fired, killing 20 Indian soldiers and, according to unconfirmed information, some Chinese soldiers as well. It was the worst border incident between the two nuclear powers since the 1962 war that China won.
There is no official state border
There is no official state border between India and China. Instead, various lines drawn by British colonial rulers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A region in eastern Ladakh called Aksai Chin, an arid landscape of rocks, glaciers and salt lakes at an altitude of 4,000 meters, remains controversial.
Also, one area in the Indian state of Sikkim in the India-China-Bhutan border triangle is controversial and the entire Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, east of Bhutan, which the Chinese government calls Southern Tibet.
In the 1950s, after China’s communists won the civil war, the People’s Republic declared all colonial borders null and void. Since then there has been a dispute over its course.
Disagreements with Bhutan too
Little Bhutan is also increasingly drawn into the struggle for geopolitical power from its large neighbors. The ancient kingdom on the roof of the world is wedged between northeast India and the autonomous region of Tibet, which belongs to the People’s Republic of China.
There are also disagreements over the border between China and Bhutan. But recently, the Beijing government raised a claim on a region of Bhutan that does not border China or Tibet at all. The Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is located in southern Bhutan, on the border with the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
China’s expansive policy
China and Bhutan have been talking for years about the exact route of their border in the high mountains of the Himalayas. The Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary was never the subject of discussion. But China has been trying for some time to enforce its territorial claims against India more severely, including in Arunachal Pradesh. Bhutan could get caught between the fronts.
The renewed outbreak of the decades-long conflict is related to the expansionary policy of the People’s Republic of China, which can also be observed in other regions of the world, according to Harsh V. Pant, an expert on China at the Observer Research Foundation, a group of political experts from New Zealand. Delhi. He referred to Chinese activities in the South China Sea, events in Hong Kong and the growing threats against Taiwan.
China invests 150 billion in Tibet
China has been expanding its infrastructure along the border in the Himalayas for years, with roads and runways for planes. Nearly $ 150 billion will be invested in Tibet, Reuters news agency reported. Among other things, the railway line between China’s Sichuan province and Tibet will be completed.
India neglected this region for a long time, Pant said. But since the Hindu nationalist BJP party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in New Delhi, India had also increased its military presence and infrastructure in the border area.
Now there are more direct encounters between border guards on both sides and consequently more frequent clashes.
Agreed de-escalation plan
Recently, the Foreign Ministers of India and China, S. Jaishankar and Wang Jy, agreed on a five-point plan for de-escalation. Consequently, troops must withdraw from both sides of the border. But this weekend a large-scale military exercise began in Tibet at an altitude of 5,000 meters, with tanks and other heavy weapons. The Reuters news agency distributed images of the maneuver by the Chinese armed forces, in which units from various branches of the armed forces participated.
A direct war between India and China does not benefit either country. China is militarily superior to its rival India. As the Stockholm peace research institute SIPRI found in its latest report, China spends more than USD 260 billion a year on its armed forces, while India only spends around 71 billion. China is also far ahead when it comes to nuclear weapons. According to the SIPRI report, China is estimated to have 320 nuclear warheads and India around 150.
