The Chinese intrusion in the Yangtse area last Friday should not be a surprise. This is as clear a signal that can be sent by Beijing that the disputed Sino-Indian border has become central to its relationship with New Delhi. What did surprise is the scale of the intrusion – reportedly 600 PLA personnel were involved in Friday’s incident. This is virtually a battalion of the PLA, where patrols are usually of platoon size.
It is important to note, especially in the light of the Union defence minister Rajnath Singh’s anodyne, almost triumphalist statement in Parliament on Tuesday, that the government did not reveal the developments on its own. It was forced to do so four days later, after The Hindu reported on Monday morning that Indian and Chinese soldiers suffered minor injuries following a clash near the LAC in the Yangtse area.
Speaking in Parliament, Singh said that on December 9 the PLA “tried to transgress the LAC in the Yangtse area of Tawang”. The Chinese attempt was fought off and the Indian Army “bravely prevented the PLA from transgressing into our territory”. He said that the two sides have since had a flag meeting and the Chinese side “was asked to refrain from such actions”.
This is in keeping with the government’s claims since 2020 that the Chinese have “attempted” to transgress, but been foiled every time. This obviously does not explain what the ongoing military-to-military talks in Ladakh are all about.
Not surprisingly, the spokesperson for the PLA’s Western Theatre Command said on Tuesday that “a regular patrol of the PLA in the Dongzhng area” on the Chinese side of the LAC was blocked by the Indian Army.
The minister’s statement has not really dealt with the developments in the Yangtse area that have been taking place in the past year. There are reports that the Chinese have established control over the sacred Chumig Gyatse waterfall earlier this year. This is just about three km as a crow flies from the Yangtse area and has been a focus of tourism development efforts by the Tawang administration.
Reports suggest that in Yangtse, the target is a 17,000 ft peak which provides excellent views of the terrain on the Indian side, particularly the road connecting Tawang with the Se La Pass, the main supply line from the plains to the Tawang tract. But there is another reason why the area is important: The Chumig Gyatse, a collection of 108 waterfalls also known as Holy Waterfalls, which is sacred to the Buddhists. Folklore has it that Guru Padmasambhava flung his rosary at a rock which led to 108 streams gushing out.
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There have been reports that the Chinese have been trying to establish themselves at the Chumig Gyatse area and the current stand off may be a consequence of that. The waterfall was just 250 metres from the Chinese side of the LAC. The Chinese name for the waterfall is Dongzhang waterfall and there are claims that earlier this year they had established control over it.
There are several Indian posts and some are perched in the very heights that the Chinese were trying to capture last Friday. It is more than likely that they successfully prevented the Chinese from occupying the peak that the PLA has been aiming at.
In the eighth meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) in August 1995, the two sides had agreed that there were eight areas where there was a difference of perception over where the LAC ran. There were two in eastern Ladakh, four in the central sector, and six in the eastern sector including Yangtse and Namka Chu, the place where the 1962 war began.
Each of these areas has tactical value to either of the two parties and they are wary of allowing the other side to establish their claim to it. As per the current understanding (despite the events in eastern Ladakh which are now a separate sui generis category), the PLA and the IA have an understanding that both sides can patrol these areas and should the patrols meet, they will produce banners saying “This is Indian/Chinese territory, please go back” and thereafter they will return to base and the issue will be discussed at a higher level. Both sides have agreed not to construct any permanent structures there and it is routine for both sides to demolish any bunkers and posts of the other side that they come across.
Both sides maintain significant forces in the area through the year. Patrol parties routinely encounter each other and usually follow the established protocol and disengage. But clearly, the Chinese wanted to escalate the situation as indicated by the large number of troops they used, and hence last week’s clash.
The first time that Chinese acted in this area was during the Kargil war of 1999 when, along with action in eastern Ladakh, the PLA took up positions in the Yangtse area and stayed there for 40 days. Later, they drew down their deployments.
In June 2016, some 250 PLA soldiers transgressed into the area but there are no report of clashes from that time. On September 28, 2021 there was a report of an intrusion by some 200 PLA personnel 12-16 kms at Yangtse, east of Bum La in the Tawang sector in the east. But they were immediately checked by the Indian side and detained for some time but released after intervention at the local commanders level. Similar ingresses and intrusions have seen a marked increase in other parts of the LAC in the region. None of these activities are new or unique, except that it appears that the Chinese patrols have increased significantly in size.
Watch: ‘Tawang Clash With China Extremely Serious; 35 Indian Soldiers Injured, 7 Serious’: Col. Ajai Shukla
The Chinese claim that since the 1990s, the Indian Army had intruded and established themselves in the area and their actions since have been to push back the Indian Army to the original LAC.
After the Galwan clash, PLA patrols along the LAC have increased in size, with a view of self-protection, as well as of maintaining sufficient numbers to take on the Indian Army, should the need arise. This is a serious trend because more soldiers means more intense and less controlled actions, which can as in the case of Galwan get out of hand and result in serious consequences.
Manoj Joshi is a Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
