{"id":8703,"date":"2020-06-20T14:23:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-20T08:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/?p=8703"},"modified":"2023-04-07T17:27:51","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T11:57:51","slug":"india-china-the-tension-over-galwan-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/india-china-the-tension-over-galwan-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"INDIA-CHINA &#038; THE TENSION OVER GALWAN VALLEY"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>INDIA-CHINA &amp; THE TENSION OVER GALWAN VALLEY<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Relevance: Prelims\/Mains: G.S paper II: India&#8217;s Neighborhood relations &amp; G.S paper III: Defense &amp; Security<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/E475\/production\/_112558485_4384068e-8951-4e3d-b5f7-94b3ab169b4b.jpg\" alt=\"China-India border: Why tensions are rising between the neighbours ...\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Violent clashes took place between Indian and Chinese soldiers at the Galwan valley in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), with reported casualties on both sides.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What is the issue in the Galwan Valley?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tensions had been high in the area for few weeks.<\/li>\n<li>Large number of soldiers and military equipment were deployed along the LAC by both sides.<\/li>\n<li>Even though the LAC in Galwan Valley was never disputed by the two sides, the Chinese had moved into the Indian side of the LAC.<\/li>\n<li>Meeting was held at the level of Corps Commanders on 6 June 2020.<\/li>\n<li>After this, negotiations had been conducted between local military commanders of both the armies.<\/li>\n<li>They negotiated for a mutually agreed disengagement process.<\/li>\n<li>As part of that process, a buffer zone had been agreed to be created between the LAC and the junction of the Shyok and Galwan rivers.<\/li>\n<li>This was to avoid any faceoff between the two armies.<\/li>\n<li>The two armies were to move back by a kilometre each in that area as a first step.<\/li>\n<li>Colonel B Santosh Babu, who was monitoring this process, noticed that a Chinese camp was still existing in the area.<\/li>\n<li>He went to get it removed.<\/li>\n<li>This soon led to scuffle and blows being exchanged, resulting in deaths and injuries.<\/li>\n<li>More than 70 Indian soldiers were injured in a major scuffle.<\/li>\n<li>At least 20 soldiers including a Commanding Officer lost their lives on a single day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Why is the current standoff is a matter of serious discussion?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the first time after the 1962 War that soldiers have died in clashes on the India-China border in Ladakh.<\/li>\n<li>Even otherwise, the last deaths on the LAC came from attack on an Assam Rifles patrol in Arunachal Pradesh by the Chinese in 1975.<\/li>\n<li>But the last real military engagement between the two armies was at Nathu La in Sikkim in 1967.<\/li>\n<li>In this, 88 Indian soldiers lost their lives, and more than 300 Chinese soldiers were killed.<\/li>\n<li>But all these incidents were prior to the two countries signing various agreements, starting from 1993.<\/li>\n<li>The agreements were aimed at maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What does the nature of standoff reveal?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.assettype.com\/swarajya%2F2020-06%2F2704f35e-3dbe-4c1d-acf1-f074b2db31ee%2FAksai_Chin.jpg?w=640&amp;q=75&amp;auto=format%2Ccompress\" alt=\"China's Commanding Officer Among Those Killed In Violent Galwan ...\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Such a large number of soldiers were killed without firing a round.<\/li>\n<li>This means that these deaths were far more brutal than they would have been had guns and rifles been used.<\/li>\n<li>In most of these scuffles, the Chinese have used bats, clubs, sticks and stones to cause major injuries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Besides the use of these blunt objects, some soldiers are said to have been pushed into the fast-flowing Galwan river.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Most of the deaths were due to injuries aggravated by the intense cold in the high-altitude area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>However, that it remained restricted to a physical tussle points to the fact that there was no escalation to a kinetic level &#8211; rifles, howitzers, rockets, missiles, and fighter jets.<\/li>\n<li>China and India are both nuclear powers, and any escalation from the current situation is highly risky, and thus is less likely to happen.<\/li>\n<li>But this is only a slight hope seen in the light of the past.<\/li>\n<li>Notably, even at Nathu La in 1967, before the military engagement escalated to artillery guns and threats of fighter jets, there was a scuffle between the soldiers of the two sides.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Why were weapons not used?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The soldiers were not carrying weapons.<\/li>\n<li>This is as per the drill followed by both sides in the border areas to avoid inadvertent escalation by opening fire.<\/li>\n<li>This is in tune with the 1996 agreement between the two countries on Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field Along the LoAC.<\/li>\n<li>This imposed many restrictions on military equipment, exercises, blasts, and aircraft in the vicinity of the LAC.<\/li>\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sundayguardianlive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Galwan-Border-is-not.png\" alt=\"Galwan: Border is not China's biggest agenda - The Sunday Guardian ...\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What happened to the Chinese side?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The official statements put out by the Army and the MEA have no details of any deaths or injuries to Chinese soldiers.<\/li>\n<li>However, the first statement by the Army was amended to say that there were casualties \u201con both sides\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>The Chinese government or the People&#8217;s Liberation Army (PLA) there has not provided any details of soldiers killed or injured in the clash.<\/li>\n<li>The only numbers that have come from are from the news agency ANI.<\/li>\n<li>It has quoted unnamed sources claiming that as per radio transmission intercepts, 43 Chinese soldiers were either killed or injured in the clash.<\/li>\n<li>Another report in usnews.com has cited \u201cAmerican intelligence\u201d to say that 35 Chinese troops, including an officer, are believed to have died.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What has been done to situation get defused?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A meeting at the level of Major Generals of both armies took place at PP14 in the Galwan area.<\/li>\n<li>It brought the situation under control, and the Indian side was able to collect all the bodies.<\/li>\n<li>The Chinese were given permission to bring in helicopters to ferry their injured back.<\/li>\n<li>But tensions have already been running high at various places on the Ladakh border since May 2020.<\/li>\n<li>The latest incident has added to the tensions, but there have been no reports of any other clashes at the border.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Is an early resolution likely?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There were hopes of an early disengagement and de-escalation after conciliatory statements following the meetings.<\/li>\n<li>But after the incident at the Galwan valley, the process is likely to slowdown.<\/li>\n<li>Naturally, an early resolution now looks unlikely.<\/li>\n<li>China has reasserted its claim over Galwan Valley.<\/li>\n<li>Chinese army has made sharp statements alleging that Indian soldiers twice crossed the LAC.<\/li>\n<li>The MEA too has categorically stated that the Chinese had violated the LAC in the Galwan Valley region.<\/li>\n<li>These allegations and counter-allegations, along with the heightened public sentiment on the deaths of so many soldiers, will test any process towards resolution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>How does the future look?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The two countries are still talking at military and diplomatic levels.<\/li>\n<li>So, any escalation into a major conflict looks some distance away at this moment.<\/li>\n<li>But conflict situations have a dynamic of their own, and events can overtake the best-laid plans.<\/li>\n<li>A military conflict, if it occurs, can be localised to one area, can be along the whole border, or can be in any one sector.<\/li>\n<li>But unless there is another provocation and crisis, the two sides should be able to resolve the situation peacefully.<\/li>\n<li>Meanwhile, the government will place the armed forces on full alert.<\/li>\n<li>Simultaneously, it will continue to use diplomatic channels to resolve the crisis.<\/li>\n<li>Alongside, controlling the domestic messaging will be done to avoid inflaming public emotions.<\/li>\n<li>In all, the execution of such strategies will determine the course of the future action on China.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>For more such notes, Articles, News &amp; 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