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NEW DELHI – Indian and Chinese troops clashed in Naku La, in the northeastern state of Sikkim, in what the Indian military characterized as a “minor confrontation”, even as border talks to stabilize the border are under way.
The brawl, in which an unknown number of soldiers were injured, occurred on January 20 in an area that is currently not among the disputed areas.
A Chinese patrol reportedly entered Indian territory and was turned away. The Indian army said the skirmish “was resolved by local commanders according to established protocols.”
Such incursions are common as the border is not demarcated at many points.
But this incident comes amid heightened tension and deep mistrust as both nations are stuck in the worst border row in more than four decades and any skirmish carries an additional risk of escalation.
Soldiers from both sides last met in Naku La on May 9 last year.
The largely peaceful Royal Line of Control, the de facto border between India and China, turned tumultuous last June after a violent clash in the Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region. Some 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers were killed in the fighting.
Tensions spread to other parts of Ladakh as additional troops and weaponry from both sides moved to the border.
India accused China of disrupting the existing status quo; China denounced that Indian troops had invaded its territory.
Both sides have withdrawn in Galwan creating a buffer zone, but a resolution remains elusive in other parts of Ladakh, including in Pangong Tso, a cross-border lake.
The Global Times, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party of China, claimed that there had been no fighting in Naku La.
“There is no record of this incident in the frontline patrol records of the China People’s Liberation Army (PLA),” one article read.
Professor Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor of Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the downplaying of the confrontation indicates a reluctance to open another front in Sikkim.
“Neither India nor China would want to escalate the border problems. Weather conditions are adverse at minus 40 degrees Celsius. The Chinese are also limited in that they do not want to see any response at the border in the run-up to the centennial of the Communist Party, ”said Professor Kondapalli. referring to a key event in China this July.
But Professor Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at the Center for Policy Research, a think tank based in New Delhi, interpreted the Naku La crash as a consequence of Chinese expansionism.
“Tibet’s border with northern Sikkim used to be the only section of the border with India that China did not dispute,” he said.
“But the latest border clash is a reminder that China’s growing expansionism has created disputes even there, turning that peaceful section into a ‘hot’ border.”
Border hostilities have spilled over into economic relations, and India is moving to introduce additional rules for Chinese companies, particularly in areas like telecommunications and energy, and the banning of dozens of Chinese apps like Tik Tok.
China is India’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching $ 92.68 billion (Singapore $ 122.95 billion) in 2019.
India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar recently said that border problems had “significantly damaged” ties between the countries.
In New Delhi, border problems are thought to have erupted as India is building its infrastructure along the border to allow for rapid troop movement.
The border row has also become political fodder at a time when the campaign for state elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal has begun.
Congressional leader Rahul Gandhi at a rally in the state of Tamil Nadu on Sunday (January 24) vilified Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on India’s problems in China.
He said China has been emboldened by India’s weak economy to make its inroads. “China can see that India is weak,” he said.
Repeating the charges on Monday (January 25), he tweeted: “If Mr Modi had protected our farmer-day laborers instead of emptying India by helping his crony capitalist friends, China would not have had the guts to take our land. “.
BJP leader Amit Malviya in turn accused Gandhi of selling “India’s interest to China” in reference to how the trade deficit grew in favor of China during the years led by the country’s Congress.
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