“You are in Indian territory, Both sides must withdraw as per agreement. Please go back,” this sentence was seen on the Indian flag shown to the Chinese Army in Ladakh. Indian Army accused the Chinese Army (PLA-People Liberation army) of illegal violations of LAC (Line of Actual Control). This face-off between the two armies is not new. We have seen it many times since 1962 where the Indian side was in the defensive mode or favour of bilateral talks despite having good trade and cultural relations between India and China.
However, India-China relations experienced a lot over the past six decades; a very intense bonhomie manifested in the “Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai” slogan in the 1950s.
For defence co-operation, we have multiple pacts between India and China but China is a regular violator of these ties. The Border Defense Co-operation Agreement (BDCA) tops the agenda during the official 3-day visit of the former Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. In that visit to China in October 2013, the objection of BDCA was to avoid border tension and army face off on the LAC by deciding that neither side will use the military capability to attack the other side nor patrol along the border.
This was the main pact and many such pacts are available in history if we look at the genesis of disputes. India-China relations have been marked by territorial disputes for many decades. In April 2013, tension triggered between two countries over their Himalayan border. India accused Chinese troops of crossing LAC by setting up their camps in Indian territory, ad in response, Indian troops set up their own camp 300m/s opposite the China facility. Both sides pulled up for putting international pressure.
India shares about a 2000 km long border with China and presently, the India-China dispute is over a land area of about 1.25 lakh km. which is divided into the eastern, middle, and western sectors. India faced a war in 1962 for the Tibet dispute where India agreed that Tibet is the internal part of China. China was also unhappy after India revoked article 370 in 2019 specifically over the formation of Ladakh as a union territory – as it claims that Aksai Chin is a part of their union territory.
The trade and cultural relationship between India and China has been very good, but China wants to occupy Indian major parts for extending their footprints to manage his business.
War can never be a real solution to this thing. India will have to revive its trade policy with China where China is a large importer and exporter of goods. India should establish a good relationship with its neighbour, like Russia, Nepal, USA, and Bhutan, by packing of trade deals. India should revive its diplomacy for handling China. An emergency committee to monitor trade alias and changes with China needs to be set up by India which will give regular reports to the government. It will create pressure on China that India is reviving every time and changes could be done if required.
This is not the time when India can be in defensive mode but needs to concentrate on its economic recovery.