Amid mounting tensions over territorial claims in the Himalayas with India, the Chinese military has been setting up military positions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — an informal line that functionally serves as a border — with at least 20 such encampments already in place, the Times of India (TOI) reports.
The Indian military reported that three of its soldiers were killed in the Himalayas on Monday night during a “violent faceoff” with Chinese troops. Chinese officials said five of their own soldiers were killed and blamed Indian forces for crossing the border and provoking the conflict.
Up to 5,000 Chinese troops are now massed along the disputed Ladakh border with India, and according to Indian officials, not all of them are staying on China’s side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The already fragile bilateral ties between regional rivals India and China could not sustain the strain of another incident mirroring the 73-day standoff near the Doklam region that nearly triggered a war last year, the Chinese envoy to New Delhi warned this week.
India joined the world’s top military spenders last year, coming in fifth place after the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, respectively, a defense budgets independent watchdog revealed in an analysis released Wednesday.
India is “prepared” to force a military stalemate against its rival China if necessary, the Times of India (TOI) quoted an unnamed official as stating this week.
The United States and India, the largest democracies in the world, are reportedly exploring ways to work together to tame communist China’s increasingly aggressive economic and military efforts across Asia as soon as possible.
Beijing recently declared the Doklam border region, home to a standoff between regional rivals India and China last year, an undisputed “Chinese territory,” once again provoking tensions with New Delhi.
The chief of staff for India’s army appeared to downplay the presence of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the disputed Doklam region that lies near the border shared by the two rival nations.
A Chinese government spokesman asserted that the communist regime will “firmly safeguard territorial sovereignty” against India on Monday, responding to a top Indian general’s promise to “not allow our territory to be invaded upon” in the disputed Doklam region.
Indian police reportedly thwarted a repeated attempt by Chinese workers to build a road on the Indian side of the China-India international boundary months after the two rivaling nations de-escalated a standoff at the Doklam region that sits along their border.
The strange and increasingly alarming confrontation between India and China in the Himalayas appears to be over, at least for the time being. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Indian troops had withdrawn the small force that was “trespassing” on territory claimed by China.
China published an extensive document Wednesday condemning the presence of Indian soldiers in the disputed Doklam area and threatening further action, asserting that any military action on India’s part “will not be tolerated.”
