Modi’s hegemonic move in Ladakh alarms China

Syed Qamar Afzal Rizvi
REPORTEDLY, there has been remarkable movement
along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto
border between India and China for the past four weeks. On 10 May, the Indian media broke news about scuffles between Indian and Chinese soldiers on the north bank of Pangong Tso on the night of 5-6 May and at Naku La in North Sikkim on 9 May. According to Pakistan Foreign Office, New Delhi had stripped occupied Jammu and Kashmir of its special status last year, saying that the move showed India’s intention of “changing the demographic composition of the territory”. The fact remains that India’s certain policy moves, are against the norms of international law, rendering regional peace future in great danger.
An Indian Army spokesperson said, “Indian and Chinese officials continue to remain engaged through the established military and diplomatic channels to address the current situation in the India-China border areas. Writing in the pro-Beijing Global Times newspaper, Long Xingchun from Beijing Foreign Studies University said the latest border friction was “a planned move” by New Delhi. “India in recent days has illegally constructed defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region, leaving Chinese border defence troops no other options but making necessary moves in response, and mounting the risk of escalating standoffs and conflicts between the two sides,” he wrote.
The Indians think that additional Chinese troops have been deployed at Depsang plains, Hot Springs, Spanggur Gap and Chumar. India’s former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale holds the view, “China doesn’t want to overthrow the US-led global order, and it just wants to capture the existing one and rule over it.” But the real fact is that Modi’s revoking of the Kashmir status of August-2019 while New Delhi’s current Reorganisation Order 2020 thereby redefining the administrative status of the India-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IJK) is the root cause of China’s concern since the new order illegally gives Indian control over the territory of Ladakh, a disputed territory between India and China.
Notably, on the eve of the various meetings held between the Indian and the Chinese officials regarding the border management issues, the Chinese have been chartering concerns about the development of India’s border infrastructure – with their main articulated objections centred on the strategic Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road (DSDBO) that connects Leh to the Karakoram Pass. India asserts that the LAC passes at Finger 8, while China’s claim line is based on Finger 2. It is in this grey zone between Finger 8 and Finger 2, where Indian and Chinese troops often encounter each other, but disengaged based on the banner drills employed by both sides. Officially the LAC was informally drawn in the post-Indo-China war of 1962. Apparently, the current drills have been devised as the manning of India’s Line of Actual Control with China varies markedly from the manning of the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan. The latter is a demarcated and well-defined line accepted by both India and Pakistan. And any cross-border movement is seen automatically as an act of war. Indians think that LAC has never been clarified, let alone delineated, with both sides yet to exchange maps of their claims line in the western sector after process was halted by China in 2002. But formally the establishment of LAC was made in 1993 via India-China bilateral agreement. And related CBMs were further adopted in 1996-2006.
Nonetheless, in a first major pacification attempt, on 6 June to resolve the month-long standoff situation in eastern Ladakh, Indian and China’s military top brass held talks at the Border Personnel Meeting Point in Moldo on the LAC, opposite the Chushul sector. While the Indian officials demanded the restoration of the status quo as on April 2020 end. Besides, India also asked China to remove its troops, structures from Pangong Lake, the Chinese side, led by Major General Liu Lin, Commander of South Xinjiang Military Region, asked India to stop its road construction. However, India rebuffed their claims saying that the construction is taking place inside the LAC, which comes under Indian sovereign territory.
Yet not far away, in 2017, there was a 73-day stand-off between Indian and China. The standoff was at the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction Doklam. The Ladakh territory has always and rightly been claimed by Beijing and this status remains unchanged. But mischievously, New Delhi illegally changed the special status of Ladakh and has declared it as its union territory-which is in blatant violation of international law. Undeniably, India has been illegally and unconstitutionally occupying the Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir. Modi’s hegemonic designs are posing a serious threat to regional peace and sustainability. Obviously, in the given situation, Pakistan cannot stay silent on India’s expansionist-cum-annexationist designs. The world community at large knows that India has surpassed and violated the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir. Indian soldiers cannot confront the Chinese Army on battlefield. The record shows that the Indian Govt is fond of occupying disputed lands. India is becoming a declining state under Modi fascist regime. Instead of resolving issues through negotiations with neighbouring countries, India’s posturing creates alarms for both China and Pakistan.
Make no mistake. India has to bear the brunt of its blunt transgressions on the LAC — joining the Chinese territory. While playing down with the writ of international law, the Indian Government needs not forget the history when Chinese soldiers crushed the Indian Army. Indian claims are based on strategic miscalculations. India has violated the historical agreement with China and consequently, India cannot take this issue to the UN forum. The Indian Government could hardly afford any confrontation with China. The regional peace is fundamentally conditioned with a peaceful solution of Kashmir dispute. Modi is unwisely using Indian nationalism card to hide its own failures and shortcomings. India has always faced embarrassment on the international front due to its mischievous attitude. Principally, China and Pakistan are affirmed to undo Modi’s hegemonic designs in the region.
—The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international law analyst based in Pakistan, is member of European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on IR, Critical Peace & Conflict Studies, also a member of Washington Foreign Law Society and European Society of International Law.