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Chinese military act in unpolitical way in India, it's disturbing - expert
Amid a fresh round of border mechanism talks between Indian and Chinese diplomats on Tuesday, some 21 PLA troops crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) into India in Barahoti Plains area of Uttarakhand. Uday Bhaskar, Indian leading military expert, shares his opinion on the issue with the Voice of Russia.
The most recent incident of intrusion by Chinese troops in the state of Uttarakhand is a matter of concern. The reason is that India and China have had a history of incursions being reported by both sides, mainly because the territorial and border dispute has not been resolved. So there is a perception that both sides have about the line that they believe is on their side.
But if you look at this historical 20-25 year period, we have had a number of incidents in two sectors, which are traditionally referred to as the Western Sector and the Eastern Sector, which are in the area of Ladakh and in the state of Arunachel Pradesh. This is the first time that we have had this kind of an incident in Uttarakhand, which technically is an agreed international border.
It is not disputed territorially. Therefore, the actions of Chinese troops are a cause for concern, and I think their political and diplomatic establishment would have to consult very carefully about what is happening on the ground and why the Chinese military is acting in this particular manner.
As an analyst, I have always been trying to understand them, what is happening on the border and why the Chinese troops are acting in this manner. And my own reading as an analyst is that, before the Chinese prime minister came to India in April, we had what is called the "Depsang incident," where Chinese troops had entered the area called Depsang in the Western Sector.
When that happened, the government of India raised that issue at the highest level and expressed its concern, and I think the Chinese were also concerned at the political level that we should not have an adverse impact on the visit of the Chinese prime minister because this was his first foreign visit.
The Chinese government, as I understand, conveyed to the Indian side that this was a minor incident and it would be addressed when the two officials would meet to have their talks. After April when the Chinese visit finished successfully, we had incidents again in June.
And now we had incidents in July. To me as an analyst, it appears to be what you might call a "mismatch" between the posture or interpretation of the Chinese political leadership and the way in which the Chinese military, the PLA in particular, is trying to assert its own position.
So under these circumstances, as an analyst I would say that this is a matter of concern for two reasons: one is that if the Chinese government has been reassuring the government of India and the Chinese military is acting perhaps autonomously, then it is indeed a cause for concern that the Chinese military has become an independent actor.
The second possibility is equally disturbing – that the Chinese political leadership is trying to reach out to India in a very sincere manner, but they are also allowing the Chinese military to act in a way that is not in the spirit of the political message.
That conveys a lack of sincerity and an attempted duplicity, which is also disturbing. As an analyst, I'm very concerned about this whole pattern of events and I hope that the two governments and the two foreign ministries would be able to meet and come to some kind of understanding as to why this is happening.
Read more: Chinese military act in unpolitical way in India, it's disturbing - expert - News - World - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video
Amid a fresh round of border mechanism talks between Indian and Chinese diplomats on Tuesday, some 21 PLA troops crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) into India in Barahoti Plains area of Uttarakhand. Uday Bhaskar, Indian leading military expert, shares his opinion on the issue with the Voice of Russia.
The most recent incident of intrusion by Chinese troops in the state of Uttarakhand is a matter of concern. The reason is that India and China have had a history of incursions being reported by both sides, mainly because the territorial and border dispute has not been resolved. So there is a perception that both sides have about the line that they believe is on their side.
But if you look at this historical 20-25 year period, we have had a number of incidents in two sectors, which are traditionally referred to as the Western Sector and the Eastern Sector, which are in the area of Ladakh and in the state of Arunachel Pradesh. This is the first time that we have had this kind of an incident in Uttarakhand, which technically is an agreed international border.
It is not disputed territorially. Therefore, the actions of Chinese troops are a cause for concern, and I think their political and diplomatic establishment would have to consult very carefully about what is happening on the ground and why the Chinese military is acting in this particular manner.
As an analyst, I have always been trying to understand them, what is happening on the border and why the Chinese troops are acting in this manner. And my own reading as an analyst is that, before the Chinese prime minister came to India in April, we had what is called the "Depsang incident," where Chinese troops had entered the area called Depsang in the Western Sector.
When that happened, the government of India raised that issue at the highest level and expressed its concern, and I think the Chinese were also concerned at the political level that we should not have an adverse impact on the visit of the Chinese prime minister because this was his first foreign visit.
The Chinese government, as I understand, conveyed to the Indian side that this was a minor incident and it would be addressed when the two officials would meet to have their talks. After April when the Chinese visit finished successfully, we had incidents again in June.
And now we had incidents in July. To me as an analyst, it appears to be what you might call a "mismatch" between the posture or interpretation of the Chinese political leadership and the way in which the Chinese military, the PLA in particular, is trying to assert its own position.
So under these circumstances, as an analyst I would say that this is a matter of concern for two reasons: one is that if the Chinese government has been reassuring the government of India and the Chinese military is acting perhaps autonomously, then it is indeed a cause for concern that the Chinese military has become an independent actor.
The second possibility is equally disturbing – that the Chinese political leadership is trying to reach out to India in a very sincere manner, but they are also allowing the Chinese military to act in a way that is not in the spirit of the political message.
That conveys a lack of sincerity and an attempted duplicity, which is also disturbing. As an analyst, I'm very concerned about this whole pattern of events and I hope that the two governments and the two foreign ministries would be able to meet and come to some kind of understanding as to why this is happening.
Read more: Chinese military act in unpolitical way in India, it's disturbing - expert - News - World - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video
