Standoffs At LAC

After recent standoffs at the Indo-China LAC border, delegates have declared success in initiating peace talks. The incident comes at a time when several countries are tightly observing China for its role in Coronavirus spread as well as its dealings with other nations.

Crux of the Matter

Peace Talks After recent standoffs at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, both sides went into negotiation. In an official statement, the Indian government declared having a successful discussion that would seek to resolve the conflict with peaceful talks.

Both sides agreed to peacefully resolve the situation in the border areas in accordance with various bilateral agreements and keeping in view the agreement between the leaders that peace and tranquility in the India-China border regions is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations. Ministry of External Affairs, India

What Happened? Recent weeks saw an increase in standoffs between the 2 countries at the LAC. After a physical confrontation involving fistfight at Sikkim border, several fighter airplanes were spotted near the LAC in Ladakh after which India rushed its army and aircrafts to monitor the situation. Further tension occurred when India enhanced its infrastructure construction near the LAC which drew criticism from China. Critics have labelled China’s actions as diversion from its actions regarding Coronavirus spread and its interference in Hong Kong and Taiwan. History of LAC Even the length of LAC is disputed between the 2 countries. India claims its length as 3,488 km while China claims it to be only 2,000 km long. While minor conflicts keep occurring in the eastern and middle part, the western part is a source of major conflict. After an informal agreement of LAC in 1962 after Sino-India war, agreements were reached in 1993 and 1996 for formal recognition. The blurring of LAC is most prominent in the western side, where the territorial claims overlap while a lack of clear demarcation fuels the conflicts.

Cutting The Lake The case of the Pangong lake is interesting for the borders as the claimed LAC passes through it. It is divided into 8 areas, called fingers. While India claims that the border passes through finger 8 and patrols till the 4th, China claims the passing of LAC through finger 2 and patrols till the 4th; occasionally it ventures into the 2nd. Recent physical battles occurred in fingers 2 and 5.

Source: India Today

History of LAC Standoffs

1. 2013: 3 week standoff as China built camps in Daulat Beg Oldi inside the Indian border

2. 2014: Standoff as India attempted to build canal in Demchok

3. 2015: Standoff as Indian troops dismantled Chinese watchtower inside the Indian LAC

4. 2017: Doklam standoff for more than 2 months

5. 2020: Unarmed fight at Sikkim border and increased aircraft patrolling at Ladakh LAC

Curiopedia

1. A Mexican standoff is a confrontation in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory. Any party initiating aggression might trigger their own demise. At the same time, the parties are unable to extricate themselves from the situation without suffering a loss. The term Mexican standoff was originally used in the context of using firearms and today still commonly implies a situation in which the parties face some form of threat from the other parties. The term is made popular due to usage of it in Movies and Video games.

2. Pangong Lake is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350m. It is 134km long and extends from India to the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China. Approximately 60% of the length of the lake lies within the Tibetan Autonomous Region. The lake is in the process of being identified under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. This will be the first trans-boundary wetland in South Asia under the convention.

3. A bargaining impasse occurs when the two sides negotiating an agreement are unable to reach an agreement and become deadlocked. Some theorists contend that impasses are used by negotiating parties in situations of imperfect information as a method of signaling to the other side the seriousness of their position. An impasse is a type of standoff.

Curated Coverage

1. The Indian Express – Line of Actual Control: Where it is located, and where India and China differ

2. The Economic Times – Ladakh stand-off between Indian, Chinese troops over canal ends

3. The Print – Ladakh standoff shows ‘unwritten’ LAC will continue to be a thorn between India and China

4. India Today – India-China standoff: Both sides agreed to peacefully resolve situation in border areas, says MEA

5. The Hindu – What is the Doklam issue all about?

6. India TV – India wants China to remove troops, structures from Pangong Lake, return to status quo

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