Col R Hariharan | April 12, 2021
The 11th Corps Commander-level meeting between India
and China was held on the Indian side of the Chushul-Moldo border point in
Ladakh on April 9, 2021. The meeting was said to have lasted for 13 hours.
Unlike the 19th round of meeting held in February, no joint statement
was issued at the end of the meeting. The statements issued separately by the
two countries at the end of the meeting, indicated no progress was made at the
talks.
In substance this means, the PLA has not agreed to pullback troops
from the four friction points 15, 17 and 17A in Hot Springs-Gogra-Kongka La
area. Secondly, no de-escalation of troops at Depsang is in sight, as one
motorized division, an artillery brigade and an air defence unit will continue
to be deployed in the region.
India’s defence ministry statement said “The two sides had a detailed exchange of views for the resolution of the remaining issues related to disengagement along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh” and agreed on the need to resolve “the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner” in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols. Indian statement had a positive note, highlighting the completion of disengagement in other areas would pave the way for two sides “to consider de-escalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquility and enable progress in bilateral relations.”
Even
before the talks started, China appeared to have made up its mind to adopt a
hard line. This was evident from the answer of the Chinese foreign ministry
spokesperson Zhao Lijian on April 8, to a question from the Indian media on the
delayed talks. He said “I’d like to stress that the ins and outs of the
China-India border issue are very clear. The responsibility does not rest with
China. It is hoped that India will meet with China half way, earnestly
implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries,
and take concrete actions to further ease the border situation. ”
The
terse statement of the spokesman of the Western Theatre of the Peoples Liberation
Army, Col Long Shaohua issued after the talks, used the same key words. It
said, “The two sides exchanged views on issues of mutual concern and will
continue to maintain communication through military and diplomatic channels.”
It further hoped that the Indian side will cherish the current positive trend
of relaxation and cooling in the Sino-Indian border area, abide by the relevant
agreements and the consensus of the previous talks and “meet the Chinese side
halfway to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border area.”
Obviously,
China appears to have hardened its stand since pulling out its troops from
Pangang Tso area to cool down the situation in January. Is it to show China’s
unhappiness at India taking an active role in Quad summit and in achieving
greater coordination between the security forces of member countries?
In
this context, there is a news item in the South China Morning Post on
developments in Tibet is interesting. Fifteen border regulations to maintain
security and stability of the border area have been introduced in Tibet
Autonomous Region (TAR) to prevent infiltration activities . The news report
quoted an anonymous insider to say that “according to Chinese officials more
than 10,000 exiled Tibetans were being trained as special operations troops in
India.” Apparently, this was a reference to the ITBP special forces, who were
successfully used to gain domination of Indian forces in Ladakh border
confrontation. The ITBP had been there for decades. Has their employment in
Ladakh operations given the willies to the Chinese?
[Col
R Hariharan is a retired MI specialist on South Asia and Terrorism &
insurgency. He is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies &
South Asia Analysis Group. E-mail: haridirect@gmail.com
Web: https://col.hariharan.info ]
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