India says progress in talks with China despite clash
Positive development comes as Delhi says troops from both sides faced off in Sikkim last week
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The incident happened last week at the Naku La pass in Sikkim state.
PHOTO: AFP
Nirmala Ganapathy India Bureau Chief In New Delhi, Nirmala Ganapathy
China and India appear to have made progress in talks on Sunday to end their nine-month border dispute, despite yet another clash between their troops last week.
Yesterday, the Indian Army called the commander-level marathon discussion to work out plans for phased disengagement from different points in eastern Ladakh "positive, practical and constructive".
"The two sides agreed to push for an early disengagement of the front-line troops," said the Indian Army statement. They also "agreed to continue their effective efforts in ensuring the restraint of the front-line troops, stabilise and control the situation along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in the western sector of the China-India border, and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity".
The army added that both sides decided to hold the 10th round soon to "jointly advance de-escalation". This statement comes after the Indian Army said border troops had a "minor face-off" at Naku La, in the north-eastern state of Sikkim. The brawl, in which an unspecified number of soldiers were hurt, took place last Wednesday.
A Chinese patrol reportedly entered Indian territory and was pushed back. The Indian Army said the skirmish "was resolved by local commanders as per established protocols".
Such incursions are common as the border is not demarcated at many points, but any skirmish risks escalation.
Soldiers last clashed in Naku La on May 9 last year.
The largely peaceful LAC, the de facto border between India and China, turned tumultuous last June after a clash in Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region. Some 20 Indian and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers were killed.
Tensions spread to other parts of Ladakh as additional troops and weaponry from both sides were rushed to the border.
India accused China of disturbing the existing status quo, while China charged that Indian troops had encroached on its territory.
Both sides have stood down in Galwan by creating a buffer zone last year.
The Global Times, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, asserted that no clash had taken place at Naku La.
"There is no record of this incident in the Chinese People's Liberation Army front-line patrol logs," an article stated.
Chinese studies professor Srikanth Kondapalli of Jawaharlal Nehru University said the downplaying of the clash indicated a reluctance to open another front in Sikkim. "Neither India nor China would want to escalate border troubles. The weather conditions are adverse at minus 40 deg C. The Chinese also have a constraint in that they don't want to see any response on the border in the run-up to the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party," he said, referring to a key event in China this July.
But professor of strategic studies Brahma Chellaney of the Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based think-tank, interpreted the clash at Naku La as the fallout of Chinese expansionism.
"Tibet's frontier with northern Sikkim used to be the only section of the border with India that China didn't dispute. But the latest border clash is a reminder that China's increasing expansionism has created disputes even there, turning that peaceful section into a 'hot' border," he said.
Border hostilities have affected economic ties, with India introducing more rules for Chinese firms, particularly in areas like telecommunications and power, and banning dozens of Chinese apps like Tik Tok.
China is India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting US$92.68 billion (S$123 billion) in 2019.
The border row has also become political fodder as Tamil Nadu and West Bengal gear up for state elections. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, at a rally in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, vilified Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence over India's troubles with China, saying China is emboldened by India's weak economy.
Repeating the charges yesterday, he tweeted: "Had Mr Modi protected our farmers-labourers-workers instead of hollowing out India by helping his crony capitalist friends, China wouldn't have had the guts to take our land."
