Slowly but steadily, China marches ahead…
…into Indian territory 
Buried amongst the avalance of news on the web, I found this alarming snippet:
…A tiny area in Sikkim has become the latest bone of contention between India and China, with the latter asking Indian army to remove a pile of stones failing which it would be demolished.
India, while noting that the boundary there has already been demarcated, has told China not to transgress into the ‘finger’ area in north Sikkim…
The way the incident is reported, it looks as if it is India that needs to be apologetic not China (now, where have I heard that before?):
..India has conveyed its readiness to discuss the issue to avoid conflagration…sources pointed out that it was not unusual for the army patrols of either country to venture into areas which are disputed along the Line of Actual Control (LOAC).
Please note: “…the Sikkim boundary has been demarcated and recognised by the two countries long ago in 1959…” BUT it apparently is “one of the most peaceful but unsettled border”!
No - I did not not understand that either…but no need to loose sleep over this:
“New Delhi, however, does not see it has any cause for worry, saying that such ”problems” will keep happening and the two countries will discuss to resolve these.”
The Indian Express report has a bit more colour to the story:
“…The row began to build up last year when Chinese troops started to frequent the area far too often — this year too about 50 Chinese transgressions have been reported in this area — and then started building a road towards the end of the year that crossed this tract of land.
When India objected to this at a local military commander level, China claimed that the area fell in its territory. A shocked Indian side then produced a 1924 map of the Survey of India where the stone cairns have been identified and shown as part of Indian territory.
When China did not pay much attention to this, India even lodged a diplomatic protest in February with the Chinese government on this issue. This was after China had protested other troop deployments in Sikkim resulting from relocation of India troops from the western border. As a result of this diplomatic escalation, the road construction near the area came to a halt.
Realising that this could suddenly escalate into a major controversy, the Indian side started beefing up its positions and constructing pathways in the area. Sources said this further annoyed China, which re-emphasised its claim.
The bigger question that has emerged from this issue, China destroying a makeshift bunker at Doka La near the Sino-Sikkim-Bhutan trijunction and then the protest of India troop movements, sources said, is a Chinese effort to bring Sikkim back into the boundary controversy.
…what was considered a settled issue once China recognized Sikkim as part of India is now making an uncomfortable re-entry into the boundary settlement discourse.”
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Can you see a pattern here? This is what I see:
1. Choose an area of the border which is hitherto considered “settled” or “not disputed”
2. Make a small road, destroy a bunker or just increase the number of “patrols” that accidentally transgress the region
2. When the expected Indian “protest” happens, agree to discuss this issue - even when there is no “issue” at all - and even when the terrritory was clearly Indian territory and when we (China) are clearly in the wrong (correction: we can never be in the wrong)
3. By agreeing to such talks, we will be seen as a “responsible” neighbour; we will be able to bring a settled issue back on the table; and we will be able to divert attention from other things happening elsewhere..
In other words, imagine a neighbour who breaks part of your fence, then agrees to sit down and “discuss” this issue, all the while stealthily and steadily encroaching on your land from the other end…Get the picture?
Sadly our political leadership doesn’t - or chooses not to…But why blame them…when their own survival is at the mercy of the “red power”?
Related Posts:
Getting obsessive about Arunachal…
As the Government sleeps, dark clouds gather on the horizon…
and a thoughtful analysis of this issue (by Brahma Chellaney) Dancing with the Dragon…
