Troops, tents on border in Ladakh ... Sino-Indian stalemate has left bilateral relations at their most militarily taut since the Doklam deadlock 3 years ago

Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, TT, 24.05.20, New Delhi: Indian and Chinese soldiers have been locked in a tense standoff at three locations in eastern Ladakh over the past week, each side building up troops, pitching tents along the un-demarcated “line of perception” and demanding the other retreat first.

The stalemate has left bilateral relations at their most militarily taut since the Doklam deadlock three years ago.

Sources in India’s security establishment said over 1,000 Chinese soldiers had transgressed into Indian territory, pitched tents and stayed put. India’s army declined comment saying the foreign ministry was handling the matter.

Most parts of the India-China border are disputed and the “lines of perception” are notional boundaries up to which troops from either side are expected to patrol.

Tensions in the region escalated after a May 5 cross-border clash, when Indian and Chinese soldiers came to blows and hurled stones at each other near the Pangong Lake in Ladakh. A similar face-off was reported in Sikkim on May 9.

“The reason behind the heightened tensions in Ladakh is that China wants to stop India from building a road while the Indian troops want China’s PLA (People’s Liberation Army) to vacate a post they claim falls under Indian territory,” an Indian security official said.

The PLA, he said, has pitched tents in at least three locations, including two in the Galwan Valley, where the showdown leading to the 1962 war had started. The PLA has brought more boats into the Pangong Lake and built bunkers.

“Several bilateral flag meetings over the past one week have failed to resolve the stalemate. Both sides’ troops are now waiting for political directions,” the security official said.

The two sides are eyeball to eyeball at two locations in the Galwan Valley, near Aksai Chin, and a spot about 200km away at the Pangong Lake.