The Sino-Indian Border Clashes.

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) has suddenly become active with the Indian and Chinese armies taking offensive positions ever since the first week of May 2020.

Let's go through the diary of events :-

 05 May        A scuffle broke out between Indian and Chinese troops at the Pangong Tso Lake,

                     14,000 ft (4,270 mts) above sea level in Ladakh. Soldiers engaged in fist fights and

                     stone pelting at the LAC. The incident, which continued until the next day, resulted

                     in 11 soldiers being injured on both sides.

                     (And yes, the world is already familiar with the  Pangsong Tso Lake through the
                     Aamir Khan starrer, "3 Idiots"). The final scenes show the enchantingly beautiful
                     lake!

 08 May       3 days later and nearly 1,200 km (745 miles) away to the east along the LAC, another

                     fight erupted at Nathu La Pass in Sikkim after Indian soldiers stopped a patrol party

                     of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

            *       Both countries downplayed the incident and the issues were resolved at the local

                     commanders' level, as has generally been done in the past.

            *       But in the weeks since then, the Sino-Indian border has seen soldiers from both the

                     sides camping along several disputed areas, with each side accusing the other of

                     trespassing.

            *       India and China share 3,488 km (2,175 miles)-long land border, most of which

                     remains disputed. 

            *       No immediate comments are available over the sudden escalation of tensions.

However, the following points are discernible :-

            *       The MEA, last week, accused the Chinese troops of hindering regular Indian patrols

                     along the border.

            *        About 80 to 100 tents have sprung up on the Chinese side and nearly 60 on the

                      Indian side.

            *        At least 10,000 PLA soldiers are now believed to be camping on what India claims 

                      to be its territory - Pangong Lake, Galwan Valley and Demchok in Ladakh and Nathu 

                      La in Sikkim.

            *        The tension might have been triggered off by infrastructure activities carried out by 

                      India along the LAC. India has been boosting its border infrastructure, with new roads

                      and airbases in remote Himalayan areas.

 22 May        The Indian COAS General MN Naravane dashed off to Leh - the capital of Ladakh -

                      to take stock of the situation.

             *       China wants the border problem to linger; it keeps India off balance and prevents

                      India from focusing its attention on Tibet, where China is in deep trouble.

             *       This is the latest since the Doklam face off of 2017, that had continued for 73 days.

             *       It could also be a diversion of global attention from its bungling of the corona virus

                      pandemic. China is unhappy that India had voted in favour of a comprehensive 

                      investigation on the spread of the corona virus!

Tailpiece.

Got up on the dot, the chores and had breakfast before my morning bath because I didn't want to delay our breakfast. Phone calls to Bunty and Babli and my sister, Rema had delayed my morning activities. The truss work repairers and the water motor service guys didn't fetch up as promised.