India-China Border Dispute: A Conflict Analysis

India-China Border Dispute: A conflict Analysis
India and China show some striking similarities. Both are now rising powers, both have nuclear
weapons, burgeoning economies, expanding military budgets and large reservoirs of manpower.
Despite this common ground, there were marked differences in the ideologies of the two great
leaders, Mao and Nehru, who controlled the foreign policies of their respective nations. (Malone
and Rohan, 2010) [1]
Disputes over the years:
In November 1961, India launched a more overtly confrontational ‘forward policy’, establishing
military posts north of existing Chinese positions in the disputed territories in an attempt to cut
off Chinese supply lines and force a withdrawal. As a result, war had broken out. Chinese troops
crossed the Line and took up positions deep in Indian territory. This war of 9 months caused
1,000 Indian deaths and over 3,000 Indians taken as prisoners. On the contrary the Chinese
military suffered fewer than 800 deaths. Sri Lanka played the role of chief negotiator for the
withdrawal of Chinese troops from the Indian territory. Both countries agreed to Colombo's
proposals. (Jayantha, 2012)[2] Tensions were raising again in 1967, but This time India succeeded
to push back China into their territory near Cho La.
After 20 years, in 1987, the Indian military was conducting a training operation to see how fast it
could move troops to the border. The large number of troops and material arriving next to
Chinese outposts surprised Chinese commanders — who responded by advancing toward what
they considered the Line of Actual Control. Realizing the potential to inadvertently start a war,
both India and China de-escalated, and a crisis was averted. (Russell Goldman, 2020) [3]
After decades in 2013, a Chinese platoon pitched a camp near Daulat Beg Oldi in April 2013.
The Indians soon followed, setting up their own base fewer than 1,000 feet away. The camps
were later fortified by troops and heavy equipment. Soon after, in May 2020, melees broke out
several times. In one clash at the glacial lake Pangong Tso, Indian troops were badly injured and
had to be evacuated by helicopter. Indian analysts said Chinese troops were injured as well. In
this whole event, what was only clear that it was the most serious series of clashes between the
two sides since 2017.
Factors that are causing disputes between the giants: Firstly, McMahon Line, named after a
British colonial official, Henry McMahon is something that China never accepted. There were
always some debates between the two states regarding the line of actual control. Both countries
have sought to establish their claims to territory, by heavily militarising the region. Both have
built roads, airstrips, outpost stations, and other infrastructure, such as telephone lines. Troops
conduct regular patrols along the disputed border. China claims more than 90,000sq km in the
eastern Himalayas and another 38,000sq km in the west, both of which are disputed by India.
Secondly, China and India are the two most populous nations on earth, and both are nuclear
powers. Both have the desire to establish them as the utmost power in Asia. Until, one of them
doesn’t establish their Grandeur. This mentality forces these two giants will be having bloody
and bloodless wars between themselves. Thirdly the long-standing relationship between China
and Pakistan presents a further obstacle to closer ties between China and India. However, China
has begun to adopt a more even-handed stance, evident during the Kargil War, the attack on the
Indian Parliament in 2001, and the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. On the contrary, The US
has always shown support to India regarding the China-India conflict. This is also a reason that
keeps China away from India. Fourthly, China and India are both net importers of crude oil, and
both are seeking to diversify their energy supply through natural gas. This has the potential to
cast them in direct competition for natural resources from Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
There are is some competition among Chinese and Indian producers in export markets for such
goods as textiles, garments, leather goods and light machinery. These competitions have always
kept the weather hot between these two countries. And Lastly, the conflict between India and
China is solely based on border dispute. And if we relook a glance in the page of history, we see,
China has a habit of claiming lands of others. It's not just India, China has border disputes with
23 countries though it only has border with 14 such as Japan, Vietnam, Nepal, North Korea, The
Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Bhutan etc.(China News) [4] So, it can be said that
this habit of china is an another factor causing conflicts between these two countries.
India and China should be able to manage their parallel rise without generating shocks on their
own continent. A more systematic dialogue, going well beyond high-level visits could lay the
foundations for a better understanding of the domestic compulsions that drive the two countries’
foreign policies and help both sides manage their nationalist impulses, transform public
perceptions and learn to pre-empt situations before they can develop into full-blown
confrontation.
Reference:
1. India and China: Conflict and Cooperation, David M. Malone and Rohan Mukherjee,
2010, p. 139
2. http://infolanka.asia/sri-lanka/people/the-foreign-policy-of-sirimavo-bandaranaike/the-
indian-ocean-as-a-zone-of-peace-proposal- The Foreign Policy of Sirimavo
Bandaranaike - THE INDIAN OCEAN AS A ZONE OF PEACE PROPOSAL, Jayantha
Dhanapala, Sri Lanka News and Information Portal.
3. https://rb.gy/z8xqdg- India-China Border Dispute: A Conflict Explained, Russell

Goldman, 2020, The New York Times.
4. https://chinanewsstories.com/2013/12/01/china-claims-territories-of-23-countries-but-
only-has-borders-with-14/ - China News, 31 August, 2020, 5:27PM.

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