Russian expert gives opinion on possibility of resolving China-India dispute
Experts have different opinions on the ability of India and China to resolve the conflicts between the two countries, specifically territorial disputes.
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| Disputed border area between China and India. Graphic: NYT |
According to Alexei Kupriyanov, head of the South Asia and Indian Ocean Regional Research Group at the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Institute of International Economics and Foreign Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO RAS), it is important for India to cooperate with countries interested in containing China - Australia, Japan and the United States.
"The conflict between India and China is not existential, because these two countries, these two civilizations have coexisted for 3,000 years and will coexist in the future. What is happening in relations between the two countries is just a short phase in their long history. This is a painful situation in the process of growth - the conflict in the border area is not of particular economic importance, but here there is a line between economic expansion and security and defense in the Indian Ocean. I believe that if New Delhi and Beijing really want to, these issues will soon be resolved to the satisfaction of both sides," Kupriyanov said at the online conference "The Chinese factor in Russia-India relations".
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| Chinese soldiers guard the border at Nathu La Pass in 1967. Photo: Hulton Archive. |
Stress persists for 30-40 years
Ms. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan - Director of the Center for Security, Strategy & Technology (CSST) at the Observer Research Foundation-ORF (India) commented that the tension in the relationship between New Delhi and Beijing has been maintained for 30-40 years, the two sides are using many different forms to solve the problem, including negotiations between the two prime ministers.
"But, we don't see any progress in the talks, the two sides don't reach a mutual understanding. I think it won't be easy to resolve this conflict. We can say that the border conflicts are not the main point of conflict between India and China. The same applies to Kashmir and Pakistan. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the problems that exist between India and China."
According to Ms. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, China wants to dominate the region, while India wants other countries in Asia to also rise economically.
"I don't think resolving the territorial dispute will help resolve other issues between China and India. This dispute is just a symptom of the larger issues that exist between the two countries," added Ms. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan.
India and China have a longstanding territorial dispute over ownership of a mountainous area in northern Kashmir, as well as nearly 60,000 square kilometers in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. In the Ladakh region, the Line of Actual Control supersedes the national border in the region. In the fall of 1962, the dispute even escalated into a border war.
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| Indian Border Security Force soldiers guard a highway leading to the town of Leh, near the border with China. |
When did India-China border tensions break out?
Relations between India and China worsened in May 2020, after a series of clashes between the two armies took place near Pangong Lake in Ladakh. New Delhi and Beijing then increased their military presence in Ladakh. India mobilized 50,000 soldiers, tanks and weapons in the area, with China estimated to have deployed an equal number of forces. In early February, first the Chinese Ministry of Defense, then the Indian Ministry of Defense announced the start of an organized withdrawal of troops from the north and south banks of Pangong Lake.
