While the entire world continues to tussle and wrangle amidst the coronavirus pandemic — which has been classified as 'worse than war' for the world economy — there's an actual war-like situation being fabricated at the India-China borders concurrently. Agonizing, isn't it?
A Friendship That Soured
India, since the very beginning, has looked forward to maintaining a well-disposed relationship with China, with whom it shares its borders in the Northern Frontier — present-day Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Jammu and Kashmir. So, why did the dispute commence at the first place?
It was in the 1960s that the friendship between the two countries took a turning point, when India decided to give asylum to the Dalai Lama of Tibet when a huge revolt had broken out there. This was worsened by the Chinese aggression that followed. Since then, both countries have never been able to reach a consensus on the border issues.
The Doklam Issue and the LAC
This tension, popularly known as the Doklam issue, began on June 16, 2017, when Chinese troops came to the area with equipment to extend a road southward in Doklam — which, according to both Bhutan and India, is an integral part of Bhutanese territory. The two sides were locked after a 73-day face-off.
Since then, face-offs and stand-offs at the border have become an on-and-off scenario, as the Line of Actual Control — commonly known as the LAC — between India and China has never been clearly demarcated. As a result of this confusion, China claims parts of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory. So much so, Beijing refers to Arunachal Pradesh as "Southern Tibet." In August, China expressed concerns over India's decision to abrogate Article 370 and declare Ladakh a Union Territory.
The Latest Trigger
How has the latest tension been triggered? The latest stand-off in Galwan Valley, according to reports, was triggered by China moving in troops and equipment to stop construction activity by India. Delhi says this was well within India's side of the LAC — which was thought to be settled in this area and which has not seen many incidents in the past. But China now appears to think otherwise.
The question that hangs in the air, heavy and unresolved, is whether this is a pattern of strategic provocation or the unfortunate product of an ambiguous boundary — and what either answer means for the future of two of the world's most populous nations sharing a fractious border.