New Delhi: Even as China has consolidated its positions at the border as per satellite images, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday, June 8, said that the border stand-off was not about China encroaching onto Indian territory, but of “forward deployment” of troops at the Line of Actual Control that could erupt in violence due to proximity of soldiers.
His remarks came at a special briefing to mark nine years of the Narendra Modi government, which was largely dominated by questions about the India-China stand-off and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticisms on the matter.
To a direct question about whether China had grabbed land due to the stand-off, Jaishankar replied that the issue was “very complicated”. He noted that the soldiers were not usually at the LAC, but were deployed in camps before the boundary, and then they went on patrols.
“After 2020, the change that has occurred due to the tensions is that both sides have done forward deployment, and this is the matter which has to be resolved,” he said.
He reiterated that the consequence of the latest three-year-old stand-off at the border was not a ‘land grab’. “The question that you asked whether it is about land or not, that is not the issue. The issue is about forward deployment and because of that the tensions can go towards violence as we had seen in Galwan,” said the foreign minister.
His statement about there being no land grab was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s previous remarks made in June 2020 that there was no intrusion by anyone inside the Indian territory. The prime minister’s remarks had led to a controversy as it essentially meant that China was given a clean chit that it had not engaged in any transgression into the Indian side of the LAC.
In May 2020, Chinese troops were seen intruding into the Indian territory in Eastern Ladakh, which led to several clashes with Indian soldiers. Jaishankar described it as “China, consciously, choosing in 2020 to break agreements to move forces to the border areas and seek to coerce us”.
Since then there have been 18 rounds of corp commanders’ talks which have led to disengagement at around four friction points, but the strategic areas of Depsang plains and Demchok remains unresolved.
Also read: ‘We Are Losing More Land’: Villages Along Lac Skeptical of Latest Disengagement in Eastern Ladakh
There have been frequent reports based on satellite imagery about the build-up of Chinese military infrastructure that would allow quick deployment of troops.
A June 2 article published by the London-based think tank Chatham House analysed six months of satellite imagery in eastern Ladakh and found that China has sharply consolidated its military presence.
“Satellite images taken in the six months from October 2022 show a region increasingly in flux. Where once there were scattered People’s Liberation Army (PLA) checkpoints and rudimentary positions on the Chinese side of the poorly demarcated Line of Actual Control, now there is an established Chinese presence,” it said.
The article said that in the Galwan Valley, several PLA bases connected by roads can now be seen leading up from the main standoff site, following the path of the Galwan river.
It noted that there was “significant activity” at Depsang Plains, one of the two remaining stand-off points to be resolved. “Patrols seemingly intend to put pressure on, and impede the development of, a strategic Indian airstrip at Daulat Beg Oldi, which serves as a logistics and transport base for Indian operations at high altitudes and is the highest airstrip in the world. It crucially supports Indian units arranged not just against China but also against Pakistan”.
China has claimed that Depsang Plains and Demchok are legacy issues, while India insists that it is part of the stand-off dispute.
India Today also reported that based on satellite images, China has also built “military villages” in the middle sector of the LAC.
When asked about the India Today report, Jaishankar said that he had not specifically read that article, but added that “a lot of infrastructure reporting had been done in reference to the Chinese side of the LAC”
Also read: China Wants 15-20 Km Buffer Zone Inside India-Claimed Lines for Depsang Disengagement
The foreign minister reiterated that India wanted to improve relations with China, but it could only be possible when there was peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
He asserted that India’s ties with all major powers have improved, except with China.
“The fact is that the relationship is impacted and it will continue to be impacted… If there is any expectation that somehow we will normalise (the ties) when the border situation is not normal, that’s not a well-founded expectation,” he said.
Jaishankar underlined the need for both parties to discover avenues for troop disengagement, noting that the existing deadlock was not in China’s interests either.
He emphasised that the channels of communication remained open, but at a minimal level.
“It is not that communications have broken down. The point is that with China, even before Galwan happened, we were talking to the Chinese saying that look, we are seeing movement of your forces which in our view is violative of our understanding. The morning after Galwan happened, I actually spoke to my counterpart,” he said.
Since then, there have been talks between the senior military and diplomatic officials through two institutionalised mechanisms to resolve the issue.
At the bilateral level, then-Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited India last year and his successor Qin Gang travelled to New Delhi for the G-20 foreign ministers meeting. “At multilateral events, there is obviously going to be a conversation,” he said.