China makes Galwan gambit, opens new front with India, proposes commander level talks

In this article, senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah writes Chinese move was surprising considering the view that for decades, Indian military had been carrying unhindered and unobstructed patrolling into high altitude areas on both banks of the river at least 2-3 km east of the estuary till the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

New Delhi: Combating India’s decades-long position that the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh was a settled issue and no border dispute existed, China on Friday night opened its hand in no uncertain terms and claimed territorial sovereignty over the area till the estuary where the Galwan meets the Shyok, in a big move that has enormous significance for India-China relations which has become exceedingly confrontational since April 2020.

At the same time, China also proposed a military commander level talk to resolve the issue.

The stating of the Chinese position on Galwan Valley comes amid a huge military build-up by both India and China on their borders with troops, artillery and aircraft deployments taking place at a frenzied pace while Indian naval assets are also on the high alert in the eastern and western seaboards.

Accusing India of trying to ‘unilaterally change the status quo, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in Beijing on Friday evening: “The Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the west section of the China-India boundary. For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region.”

The prying open a new front adds a new dimension to the India-China face-off coming in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement during an all-party meeting on Friday stating that ‘no one has entered Indian borders nor has any India post been captured’. “The entire country is hurt and angered by what China did at the LAC,” he had said referring to the brutal attack on outnumbered Indian soldiers by Chinese PLA troops on the evening of June 15.

On June 16, the Chinese state-owned ‘Global Times’ had quoted the PLA’s Western Theater Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili who also stated that “China always owns sovereignty over the Galwan Valley region”.

The same day, ETV Bharat had underlined the importance of the opening of the new front by the Chinese.

The Chinese move was surprising considering the view that for decades, Indian military had been carrying unhindered and unobstructed patrolling into high altitude areas on both banks of the river at least 2-3 km east of the estuary till the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

But on Friday, China contested the Indian perception of the LAC on the Galwan Valley opening another front in addition to quite a few other extant areas of dispute along the 3,488 km long border.

The foreign ministry spokesperson also claimed that the June 6 meeting between lieutenant-general ranked commanders of the two armies at Chushul-Moldo reached an agreement with the Indian side promising “that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities”.

Proceeding to give a blow-by-blow account of the fateful Monday night brutal fight, the spokesperson added it took place as Indian troops “once again crossed the LAC… thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties.”

Spokesperson Zhao added: “A second commander-level meeting should happen as soon as possible to deal with the situation on the ground.”

The Galwan Valley is of immense military importance for India as its heights overlook a crucial 255-km long road that connects Shyok village to Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO), a major Indian military base located near the Karakoram pass, and the highest air field on earth.

The bone of contention which had sparked off the June 15 bloody brawl was the Chinese buildup at a high-altitude point about a km away from the confluence point of the Galwan and the Shyok rivers.