OPINION:
Tensions between China and India have long flared from time to time as the two powers compete for land in a tiny corner of the world where their borders meet. India is said to have increased its military alert status along a portion of the 4,057-km Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control, putting 50,000 troops on an increased state of readiness.
The intersection of borders between Bhutan, China and India has seen an eight-week standoff with soldiers from opposing sides standing only 100 meters apart in some places. Indian soldiers recently stopped road construction in the area by the People’s Liberation Army, concerned that China is changing the facts on the ground in the area. The areas of contention are the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh provinces controlled by India and claimed by China.
“It is at the moment a localized affair on the Sino-Indian border in Sikkim,” said S. L. Narasimhan, a Coimbatore-based independent defense analyst who retired as a Lieutenant General from the Indian Army. “There is no reason for panic. In other areas along the Line of Actual Control, normal military activity and usual patrolling would have gone up in view of the situation in Doklam, reported Bloomberg News.
China has been aggressive in the South China Sea as well, fortifying man-made islands in the region and threatening international sea lanes with militarization of land claimed by other nations such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and others. As China rises in economic and military power, their frontier becomes more in focus as they attempt to settle old land disputes.
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