China India Border Tension: A New Challenge for Mr. Modi Six Years After the Galwan Clash

Indian authorities have admitted to several new face-offs between Indian border guards and Chinese forces on the border of Arunachal Pradesh in India’s northeast. Six years are almost complete since the bloody clash in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. Even as the two countries try to ease their long border crisis through diplomacy, the new face-offs are a fresh challenge to the strong image of Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi.

Last week, Mr. Shatrujeet Kapoor, Director General of India’s Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), spoke at a felicitation event. He said that face-offs between Chinese forces and ITBP border guards and commandos are still going on in the remote Upper Subansiri region of Arunachal Pradesh. In August this year, local civil society members and residents had claimed that Chinese troops were slowly taking more Indian land. They also said the Chinese troops were stopping Indian soldiers from reaching their regular patrol points.

Analysts say these clashes came at a time when Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping visited India after seven long years on the sidelines of the BRICS summit last month. The two countries were also making a partial effort to normalise ties. US President Mr. Donald Trump’s trade war has pushed these two nuclear armed neighbours to try to come closer in global politics. Still, the 3,488 kilometre long border line, which is not fully marked or agreed upon, remains the main barrier to normal relations.

In June 2020, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a deadly hand to hand clash between the two armies in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. China also admitted that four of its soldiers died. Satellite images and security experts say Beijing has since taken control of many disputed areas. The Modi government has always denied that India lost any land.

Analysts of international crises believe that these face-offs on the ground may be part of China’s regular strategy to apply pressure, even while talks go on at the table. Because the border is not marked, there is a fear that such tension will continue in the days ahead. This puts the success of the Modi government’s national security policy to a big test. This report is based on Al Jazeera.