![]() The border dispute has also impacted other aspects of India-China relations, notably trade and investment. Border dispute weighs on India-China economic ties "It is unlikely that the Galwan incident will be repeated at any part of the border, although the likelihood of advancing disengagement will be slow in the first half of the year," she said, adding she expected "progress and outcomes" later in 2022. Kochhar is optimistic that both sides will do all they can to avoid another clash. "On the other hand, part of the ongoing talks is devoted to ensuring that another clash doesn't take place," she noted. "Given the presence of a large number of troops and equipment, I think the overall situation is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and tension," she added. "The situation is fraught with a certain amount of apprehension and anything can be a trigger," Acharya said. Moreover, Indian and Chinese soldiers reportedly rang in the new year by hoisting their respective national flags in Galwan valley. ![]() The deadly clash in June 2020 involved a brawl between soldiers on both sides.ĭespite the multiple rounds of talks, there are no signs of tensions easing between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Both sides have stationed tens of thousands of troops, backed by massive military hardware, including tanks and fighter jets in the region. Since the Galwan incident, there have been isolated skirmishes, and even reports of shots fired at the border for the first time in 45 years, although no casualties have been reported. "Everything will and should move in a step-by-step manner, considering the overall benefit and interests of both sides, which means an uninterrupted discussion is the only way forward," she said. "One thing we must acknowledge is that both India and China have different ways of dealing with issues, partly due to their political structure, but also due to their global positions," Kochhar explained. Yet, the root problem will remain," Kochhar said. "Some new mechanisms will be designed and established to defuse tensions as and when they arise. "In 2022, I do see a step toward deeper engagement," said Kochhar, adding, however, that a proper delineation of the border is not likely to come anytime soon. With regional elections in the coming months, New Delhi is "not going to take any decision that is going to be interpreted as having capitulated to the Chinese," Acharya said.Īll this means that the border talks are likely going to be a long-drawn process, she added. The Indian government is also under pressure to act against reported Chinese construction activities along the border. India and China each control certain parts of the border that are claimed by the other side, and New Delhi has repeatedly accused Chinese forces of incursions. "They've never done it and there is no reason to assume that they are going to rewrite history," she told DW. "There is no way the Chinese are going to vacate what they have occupied now," said Alka Acharya, former director of the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi. India and China's stalemate in the Himalayas Several sectors are claimed by both New Delhi and Beijing.īoth sides are dealing with "deep-rooted and long-pending issues, especially when the understanding of border differs so greatly," she said. Kochhar told DW that India and China have different perceptions as to where exactly the ill-defined 3,500-kilometer-long border should be demarcated. "Obstructions in talks are inevitable," said Geeta Kochhar, a Chinese studies professor at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The latest round of talks between Indian and Chinese military commanders earlier in January ended without progress, much like the previous meeting, held three months earlier. Galwan valley, in the eastern Ladakh region, is one of the many flashpoints between the two sides along the de-facto border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Chinese military later said four of its troops had been killed. ![]() India and China have held 14 rounds of military and diplomatic talks since a clash in June 2020 between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan river valley, which left at least 20 Indian troops dead. Large swaths of the area are snowed in, and troops patrolling the border endure sub-zero conditions, which also accurately describes the current state of dialogue. The disputed Himalayan border between India and China sees little activity this time of the year.
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