Topics Covered: Border areas and their management.
India China Galwan Valley standoff
Context:
- Even as India and China are engaged in military-level talks and in controlled engagement, there has been a violent face-off between the army troops of both sides.
- Recently, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Indian Army clashed and used stones, knives, and machetes to attack each other and this resulted in fatalities on both sides.
This incident happened at Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh region.
Background:
India and China share a border that is more than 3,440km (2,100 miles) long and have overlapping territorial claims.
From past one month, Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a tense stand-off at three points along the Line of Actual Control — the Galwan River Valley, Hot Springs area and the Pangong Lake — since early May.
The strategic importance of Galwan River Valley (GRV):
The Galwan river is the highest ridgeline and it allows the Chinese to dominate the Shyok route passes, which is close to the river.
It lies along the western sector of the LAC and close to Aksai Chin, a disputed area claimed by India but controlled by China.
Why tensions are suddenly on rise in this area?
India is trying to construct a feeder road emanating from Darbuk-Shyok Village – Daulat Beg Oldi road (DS-DBO road).
This road runs along the Shyok River and is the most critical line of communications close to LAC.
Hence, Chinese are keen on controlling this area as they fear that the Indian side could end up threatening their position on the Aksai Chin plateau by using the river valley.
Way ahead for India:
That China is becoming more belligerent across strategic theatres, challenging the status quo, is supported by multiple examples from the South China Sea.
For the Government of India, this is a moment to guard against complacency, fostered by decades of nimble diplomacy that led to equilibrium, however precarious, on the border issue with China.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- Locate on map- the disputed areas between India and China, Pakistan and Nepal.
- Where is Galwan valley?
- Locate shook river.
- Tributaries of Indus River and their origins.
- Where is Naku La and Nathu La?
- What is DS- DBO road?
Sources: the Hindu.
