New Delhi: Last Tuesday, the 86th birthday celebrations of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, organized on the banks of the river Indus in Demchok in eastern Ladakh had a few uninvited guests, although they kept a safe distance away from the celebrations.
“Chinese soldiers and civilians came in about four five vehicles and put up a banner drill near the U-bend in Demchok on the bank of the Indus river. Basically, they laid claim to the area which we contested. They stood there across the river for about half an hour or so and then left. But we have officially reported a transgression,” said a security source.
The Indian army however refused to comment on the incident. “We do not have a response,” said one official.
The incident is another indication of the very tense relations existing between the two militaries that face each other in many points across the border between the two countries from the eastern Ladakh region in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Dalai Lama on the telephone for the first time ever on his birthday on Tuesday—a huge indication of the changing stance of the Indian establishment when it came to the Tibetan leader.
Also read:China's non observance of border agreements 'disturbed' foundation of bilateral ties: Jaishankar
In the past, Indian leaders were cagey about having public interactions with the Dalai Lama in keeping the sensitivity of the Chinese in mind.
At the moment, about 50,000 Indian soldiers along with their war-like equipment are deployed close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The chain of events in the standoff was kicked off by a border brawl on the north bank of the Pangong Tso on May 5, 2020. But while the Pangong area has seen some disengagement, the standoffs continue at other spots like Demchok, Hot Springs, Gogra etc.
Till now, 11 rounds of meetings have taken place between the top commanders of the two militaries in the region. While the 11th round took place on April 9, the earlier parleys took place on June 6, June 22, June 30, July 14, August 2, September 21, October 12, November 6, January 24 and February 20.
The Indian delegation is led by the Leh-based 14 Corps commander and includes a joint secretary from the foreign ministry, a Brigadier ranked officer from the DGMO, besides local military representatives including the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). The Chinese delegation is led by the commander of the South Xinjian Military District.
Also read:China indulging in 'unrestricted warfare' against India, says report
The failure of the talks till now has underlined the fact that a robust resolution of the border issue would need escalation to top political leaderships of the two countries due to perceptional differences in the nature of understanding where the border is demarcated.
Added to the border demarcation complexity is the Chinese demand to restore territories on the basis of a 1959 claim line, a line that was first proposed by former Chinese PM Chou el-Lai and was turned down by his Indian counterpart Jawaharlal Nehru.
