India-China LAC disengagement

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India-China LAC disengagement

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Feb disengagement: India and China decided to finally reach an agreement on disengagement at Pangong Lake, which has been at the heart of the recent LAC tensions starting April 2020. Both sides agreed to a withdrawal of frontline personnel, armored elements, and proposed the creation of a buffer zone that will put a temporary moratorium on patrolling in the disputed lake. China also asked India to vacate the heights it occupied in an effective countermove in the Kailash Range.
Unresolved issues: There are many other issues that needed to be resolved to establish lasting peace.

Partial disengagement: The Feb 2021 disengagement was limited to two places on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh viz. north bank of Pangong lake and Kailash range to the south of Pangong. There are three other sites of contention on the Ladakh border where the PLA had come in — Depsang, Gogra-Hot Springs and Demchok — and talks would be held to resolve these after the current phase of disengagement is completed.
Unresolved issue of Depsang Plains: The Depsang plains due to their proximity to the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road, the DBO airstrip, and the Karakoram Pass holds strategic importance for India when it comes to dealing with China. The Daulat Beg Oldie road is critical for India’s control over the Siachen glacier (the only area on the Indian landmass where China and Pakistan can physically collude militarily).
Creation of buffer zone: There are worries that the creation of proposed buffer zones would lie majorly on the Indian side of the LAC, thus converting a hitherto Indian-controlled territory into a neutral zone. At best, these buffer zones can provide a temporary reprieve but are no alternative to the mutual delineation of the LAC and a final settlement of the Sino-Indian boundary.
Distrust between India & China: The events of 2020 have left enormous distrust, which remains a hurdle, and China’s actions on the ground have not always matched its commitments. Further, China is wary of India’s attractiveness to the United States and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Due to the disputed nature of the border and a lack of trust between the two sides, any perceived violations of ‘no patrol’ zones can lead to deadly outcomes as seen in Galwan valley in 2020.

Indian strategy: The Chinese excuse that the Depsang problem precedes the current crisis on the LAC and thus must be treated separately, is not in India’s interest. India should pitch hard to club them together and find a holistic solution. India should not confine its response to managing the border dispute but extend it to attacking Chinese commercial interests in India and aligning itself more closely with its Quad partners, especially in the maritime domain.

India should also explore diplomatic and militaristic routes to counter China. Apart from colluding with the Quad countries, one such viable option is establishing formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. India should look Ladakh crisis as an opportunity to carry out long-pending defense reforms.
A big sources of concern for India’s military is the pension bill. This rise has a significant crowding-out effect on stores and modernization, two major components that determine a nation's war-fighting ability. The current approach to this problem seems to be two-fold — a farcical three-year “Tour of Duty” to attract the young and an effort to prevent pensionable soldiers from leaving.

Conclusion: The disengagement process is a welcome move because heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed Asian powers serve no useful purpose for anyone. But its success will finally depend on whether it is implemented on the ground in letter and in spirit.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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