The Indian eye has enraged China: it is a red line that Beijing will not forgive

Enchanted by soldiers waving Indian and Tibetan flags, Ram Madhav laid a wreath on the coffin during a ceremony held with full military respect for the deceased. In a now-deleted Twitter message, Modhi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary expressed his hope that the soldier’s death “will lead to peace on the India-Tibet border.”

As is always rare, the top-secret recognition of India’s military unity with Tibetan troops could exacerbate the border conflict, which has claimed dozens of lives since May this year and worsened economic relations between the most densely populated countries. of the world. Even more important is the insinuation that India is questioning China’s sovereign rights over Tibet, the “red line” for Beijing, for which separatism also appears to be a solid basis for military action, be it Xinjiang, Honkogn or Taiwan

“The Indians are sending a message, a very strong message that they may not have sent for decades,” said Robbert Barnett, who led the Modern Tibet Studies Program at Columbia University until 2018 and has been writing about the region since the 1980s. “The participation of the exiled Tibetans and the use of their symbols, photographs and flags is an extremely eloquent message for China.”

The tension is heating up

Although the foreign ministers of India and China agreed at a meeting in Moscow last week to maintain a moderate stance, border tensions remain higher than ever. Both sides are rapidly mobilizing forces in the disputed area, which is important for controlling the vital Himalayan mountain passes; In September, warning shots were fired along the so-called Line of Control (the actual state border) for the first time in more than four months.

In recent weeks, China has flown fighter jets and heavy bombers to the Indian border from Central Theater Command, Beijing’s strategic reserve, not even in 1962, when both sides started the war, officials said. Indian defense, calling for their names to be withheld due to current communications with media rules. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not respond to faxed questions.

While no country has an incentive to take military action, prolonged and growing friction may push them to do so, says Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Eurasia Group said last week that the likelihood of border clashes could lead to a much longer military conflict increased to 15 percent.

“A premeditated or accidental incident in a local outbreak can now really provoke a larger conflict than any government would like,” Narang said, writing a book on regional nuclear deterrence strategies.

Dalai Lama

Tibet, an area roughly the size of South Africa stretching across the Himalayas, has been an aspect of the dispute in India’s relations with China since 1959, when the Dalai Lama fled to a South Asian country after a repressed uprising. He founded a government of exile in the city of Dharamsala, in northern India, much to the discontent of Beijing. India only recognized Tibet as part of China in 2003.

According to Jayadeva Ranade, a member of the Advisory Board of the National Security Council, India formed a military unit of Tibetan refugees, known as the Special Border Force (SFF), for the first time immediately after the Indochina War of 1962 to carry out covert operations beyond the Chinese border. As in the United States Special Forces, here each member is trained as a commander and conducts covert operations alongside Indian soldiers.

“That recognition is a clear message to China that its compatriots are at war with us,” said Ranade, director of the China Strategy and Analysis Center, a research group in New Delhi. “I don’t remember those forces having been recognized like this before.”

Special border forces participated in a night raid in August with the aim of taking good strategic positions and staying on the front line, said Indian defense officials, who asked that their names be withheld.

However, both India and China seek to downplay the importance of Tibetan troops.

Colonel Aman Anand, a spokesman for the Indian army, declined to answer questions about the party, but emphasized that the army was committed to maintaining peace and quiet while protecting national integrity and sovereignty at all costs. The Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Chinese exercises

China did not attach particular importance to the reports on Tibetans; Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday advised reporters on questions to India on the issue. “China’s position is clear,” he said. “We strongly oppose the efforts of any party to support the separatist activities of the Tibet Independence Forces by any means.”

While the government avoids heating up the situation, Chinese state media last week published images of military exercises in Tibet, with tanks, fighter jets and even drones capable of delivering food to troops in the long winter that will soon begin.

The coffin of Nyima Tenzin, a dead Tibetan soldier, was draped in Indian and Tibetan flags. BJP official R. Madhav, who attended the funeral, understood the importance of the moment. In 2014, he published a book on the conflict, titled “Neighbors in trouble: India and China after 50 years of war.” Madhav did not respond to requests to comment on why he deleted his post on Twitter.

And although the Indian government does not officially recognize Tibetan forces, Tenzin’s public funeral and Madhav’s attendance generate support for partial support for the Tibetan exile community, says Gonpo Dhundup, president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, an organization It has 30,000 members who fight for regional freedom. .

“I strongly believe that the younger generation will be a great addition to the SFF,” Dhundup said by phone from the suburbs of Daramshala. “That recognition, while brief, sent the message that our contribution would be recognized.”