Headline, July 11 2024/ WORLD : ''' CHINA -INDIA- CHIME '''

WORLD : 

''' CHINA -INDIA- CHIME '''

 

CROSSING THE LINE : CHINA AND INDIA wrestle for control of desolate terrain in the Himalayas. The Founders of The World Students Society appeal for change of this madness - but not with optimism.

THE 2,100-MILE BORDER SEPARATING INDIA AND CHINA passes through some of the world's most horrible, and inhospitable terrain.

In the west, the 3,400-kilometer line runs along India's Ladakh region, at an altitude of 13,000 to 20,000 feet [ 4,000 to 6,000 meters ]. During the months when the area isn't covered in snow, the ground resembles a moonscape.

The earth is sandy, strewn with rocks and pebbles; not a blade of grass grows anywhere; there are no visible signs of animal life.

In winter, temperatures can drop to minus 40 degrees [ measured in either Fahrenheit or Celsius ]. The bleak conditions and barren vistas can induce despair in those who set foot on the land.

'' I've been to those places,'' a former Indian diplomat who now works for an international Buddhist organization in Delhi told me. '' When you visit, you tend to think, ' Who the hell even wants this area? ' ''

BUT that's not how nation-states view territory, no matter how desolate it is. That is why India and China have their armies deployed on these heights along an unmarked and, in many places, contested boundary between the two countries.

In the absence of any fencing or barbed wire to demarcate territory, soldiers from each nation contend with considerable ambiguity when conducting patrols along what's known as the Line of Actual Control.

The lack of clarity means that there are several places along the border that are effectively a no man's land, where both Indian and Chinese troops carry out patrols.

Soldiers from each side routinely leave empty cigarette packets and beer cans behind as marks of territorial claim. At the same time, soldiers on each side are legally bound to exercise restraint during patrols, according to a 1996 agreement between the two countries that prohibits the use of firearms and munitions at the border.

In recent years, however, confrontations have sometimes spiraled into skirmishes.

One night in early December 2022, for instance, hundreds of Chinese troops attempted to breach, in four spots, a stone wall along a border ridgeline in the Yangtze plateau, located on an eastern stretch of the border, in India's easternmost state, Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims is a part of Tibet.

According to Indian press reports - the Indian army has not provided a public account - the Chinese troops were armed with nail-studded clubs, monkey fists [ knotted-up portions of rope used as a weapon ] and stun guns.

The Indian soldiers, using crude weapons of their own, eventually forced the Chinese troops to retreat.

Though there were no fatalities, the engagement was violent, making it the most skirmish since a June 2020 clash in the Galwan Valley, which proved fatal for 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers.

Episodes like those in Yangtze remain an era of increased hostility between the two countries, which have generally maintained a peaceable, if strained relationship in the decades since they fought a war in 1962.

Today, India and China have each stationed an estimated 60,000 soldiers along the Line of Actual Control.

Jayadeva Ranade worked for many years with India's Research and Analysis Wing, the country's main foreign intelligence agency; he now serves on India's National Security Advisory Board.

In his view, skirmishes along the border are likely to be regular occurrences for the foreseeable future.

'' This conflict isn't going to go away in a hurry,'' he told me. And in large part, the matter is more about more than just gaining territory ; it's also about a broader geopolitical rivalry.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on the World, Flashpoints and Future continues. The World Students Society thanks Yudhlit Bhattacharjee.

With most respectful dedication to the Leaders of China and India, and then Students, Professors and Teachers of the world.

See You all prepare for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world - and for every subject : wsscow.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

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