Nice gesture as Indian, Chinese troops exchange sweets, but LAC standoff far from over

Ajay Banerjee

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 2

Pictures have emerged of Indian and Chinese troops exchanging sweets and greetings on New Year ’s Day. However, the ground situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is not ‘sweet’.

Situation stays tense

• The exchange of sweets was just a medium to keep in touch, sources say
• The situation is sensitive in areas of Tibet lying north of Sikkim and Arunachal
• There has been a rapid build-up by China, including new habitations and roads
• Both sides have deployed 75,000 troops on either side of LAC in eastern Ladakh.

The troop build-up on either side along the 832-km LAC in eastern Ladakh shows no signs of getting back to the pre-April 2020 level.

The exchange of sweets was just a medium to keep in touch, sources say, adding that since May 2020, local commanders have had almost 1,700 interactions in eastern Ladakh over hotline or in the form of physical meetings.

Apart from the build-up in eastern Ladakh, the situation is sensitive in other areas of Tibet lying north of Sikkim and north of Arunachal Pradesh. There has been a rapid build-up by China, including new habitations and roads.

Multiple military exercises have been carried out and the latest is the Chinese attempt of renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh. From January 1, China’s new law on its own boundary kicked in. It says that the sovereignty and territorial integrity are sacred and inviolable, and lays emphasis on safeguarding the territorial integrity and land boundaries.

The last meeting on October 10, 2021, at the level of Lieutenant General, had ended in a deadlock.

On October 10, China had diverted from the laid-down agenda for the talks — disengaging from Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Springs). The existing impasse is over PP 15 and the Depsang Bulge.

On October 11, the Ministry of Defence had issued a statement, saying: “The Indian side made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas (of friction along the LAC), but the Chinese side was not agreeable.”