INDIA-CHINA: TIME FOR A RESET
THE DEATH OF 20 INDIAN SOLDIERS and an unknown number of PLA (Peo- T ple’s Liberation Army) soldiers in a clash in Ladakh on June 15 marks an inflection point in India-China relations. The clash was a result of changes in Chinese behaviour on the border since April this year. The PLA has attempted to establish a permanent presence across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), concentrated force along the line and prevented Indian soldiers from following their normal patrolling patterns in several places in Ladakh. In effect, China’s actions have changed the status quo that both sides are legally bound to respect under a series of bilateral agreements since 1993. A reset of India-China relations is now inevitable and necessary.
WHERE ARE WE TODAY?
The June 15 clashes come as the culmination of a series of incidents of ever growing scale, duration and severity along the India-China border since 2012. In 2013, the PLA intruded across the line and pitched tents in Depsang, withdrawing after negotiations over two and a half weeks. In September 2014, on the day that President Xi Jinping arrived in India for a state visit, over a thousand PLA troops entered Chumar and only vacated the area three weeks after his visit. In 2017, the PLA entered and stayed on the Doklam plateau, disputed between Bhutan and China, an area they had only patrolled sporadically before. A 72-day stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops ended with the face-off spot being vacated by both sides. Since then, the Chinese have left the face-off spot vacant
