Former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer, Amar Bhushan, comments on the border clash between India and China in which solders fought hand to hand combat on high mountain terrain.
By way of background, the Guardian explains the dispute between the world’s two most populous nations like this.
Both countries have sought to establish their claims to territory, by heavily militarising the region. Both have built roads, airstrips, outpost stations, and other infrastructure, such as telephone lines. Troops conduct regular patrols along the disputed border. China claims more than 90,000sq km in the eastern Himalayas and another 38,000sq km in the west, both of which are disputed by India.
Bhushan sees China asserting itself in a region that includes occupied Tibet and restive Xinjiang province.
India must prepare as best as possible. We need to strengthen the build up on our side. Build our economy and take a long term view of making India self-reliant Bhushan also says. We need to talk simultaneously as well. There will be no full-fledged war that would take place between the two countries. However, we must also bear in mind that close to Ladakh, there is Tibet. The Chinese may have humbled the Tibetans, but they have not wiped out the resentment. Then there is Xinjiang and it is boiling. If the Chinese at all get beaten in some area, it will give them an impetus to rise. Hence they will not go in for any misadventure,
