On Monday India claimed that there was another standoff between India and China in the Tawang region of Arunanchal Pradesh last Friday.
Updates by the defense minister
Indian Army stated “both sides immediately disengaged from the area”. The Defense Minister of India Rajnath Singh said to the Parliament that “there was no loss of life or serious injury to our soldiers. Chinese side has been asked to refrain from such actions, maintain peace and tranquility along border”. Underlining the efforts made from the Indian side to maintain peace and ensure that there was no wrongdoing Rajnath Singh added “This matter has also been taken up with China through diplomatic channels. I want to assure the house that our forces are committed to guarding our borders and ready to thwart any attempt that will be made to challenge it”.
The standoff took place as a result of trespass by the Chinese soldiers and efforts by the Indian soldiers in order to send them back. While there has been no clear responses by the officials on the combat between the two forces. It is said that injuries has taken place in both the sides but no deaths.
Restoration of peace and tranquility
This is one such incident after clash in galwan valley of June 2020 where 20 Indian soldiers and 40 Chinese soldiers had been killed and injured. Multiple meetings between the two sides led to soldiers pull back from major spots and reduce tensions. Indian Army said in a report said that six of their soldiers had suffered from injuries. However, there was a meeting held by the commanders from India and China in order to ease the tensions in the disputed area. Indian Army Chief Manoj Pandey had said in November that there was “no significant reduction” in the number of Chinese troops in the area of Ladakh. He also termed the situation along the border as “stable but unpredictable”.
External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar said that “unless there is peace and tranquillity in the border areas… unless there is an observance of agreements and no unilateral attempt to change status quo… the situation cannot be, and is not, normal”.
No particularizations from Chinese side
Chinese officials have not said much about the ongoing situation in Arunachal Pradesh. Chinese politician diplomat and the spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin epitomized the situation to be “generally stable”. Wang said in Beijing “the two sides have always maintained smooth communication on border-related issues through diplomatic and military channels”.
A similar standoff took place in January 2021 which took place along the border of China and Sikkim. The sudden disputes since years along the border of China and India is also due to substandard demarcation of the border according to some experts.
