Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 24
As India and China are locked in a tense military posturing at three separate points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the efficacy of the border agreements and protocols comes under question.
China is honouring none of agreements inked since 1993, probably trying to carve a "new normal" while attempting to alter the existing arrangements.
The series of protocols ensured that the two sides knew which were the disputed sections of the LAC and agreed on the conduct of troops in those areas. The 3,488-km LAC running along the Himalayan ridgeline has several disputed points. The perception of where the LAC runs varies at certain places by several kilometres and troops of both countries patrol these disputed sections.
The non-disputed areas were a strict no-go. What China is now doing at Galwan in eastern Ladakh is a situation that has not arisen since November 1962 — when India- China war ended. At Galwan, China is sitting some 3-4 km on the Indian side of the LAC, and this stretch, incidentally, is not disputed by either side.
At the north bank of Pangong Tso — a 135-km glacial melt lake — troops have clashed, and two flag meetings have yielded nothing. China wants to keep India at least 8-10 km short of the present patrolling line.
Since 1993 — the year, incidentally, coincides with the economic rise of India and China — the two countries have had a few key agreements aimed at ensuring peace along the LAC. In September 1993, the "Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the LAC in the India-China Border Areas" was inked. Since then, a series of agreements were signed dictating the conduct of soldiers and authorised a high-powered committee with members of both sides to sort out matters.
In January 2012, the two countries inked a pact and established a "Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs". It is tasked too"address issues and situations that may arise in the border areas that affect the maintenance of peace".
So far, China has been "threatening" India through news outlets owned by the Communist Party of China.
Incidents at Galwan and Pangong Tso fly in the face of the 2005 protocol inked on "modalities for implementation of confidence-building measures in the military field along the LAC in the India-China border areas". The mandate of the agreement is: "Neither side shall use force or threaten to use force against the other". It also calls upon both sides to stop their activities (like patrols) in the disputed area and not advance any further. On coming face-to-face, troops unfurl a banner, asking the other to back off from the present position of patrolling. There are some 400-500 such banner drills done annually, but in the current stand-off the system has not worked.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement inked in 2013 says both sides have to inform about military exercise and flying of aircraft. The two sides agreed that they shall not follow or tail patrols of the other side in areas where there is no common understanding of the LAC. China is flying helicopters very close to the LAC, India responded by flying out a team of Sukhoi 30 MKI jets, and patrol parties have jostled, fought and exchanged fisticuffs.
What was inked
- Don't confront patrols in disputed areas, show a banner
- Don't tail patrols
- Committee to address issues that may arise near LAC
- Control over flying of aircraft
- Resolving local issues at border meeting points
Ground reality
- India being confronted, no impact of any banner
- Troops have come to blows
- China using state-owned media to issue threats
- Unprecedented copter activity
- No impact of meetings
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/36smMZ4
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