Slow and steady on China front
De-escalation, restoration of status quo and normalisation of bilateral ties need to be addressed with clarity and coherence
The first meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs (on December 5) since the disengagement of troops at Demchok and Depsang is part of what is expected to be a long and arduous process to address the long-standing boundary dispute. It follows meetings between the top leadership and foreign and defence ministers of the two countries over the past two months. While the leaders and ministers can provide overall guidance for the process, it is mechanisms such as the WMCC that will have to address the nuts and bolts of the issue of border management, which suffered the biggest setback in more than two decades because of China’s violation of past agreements and protocols through the massing of troops and incursions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in April-May 2020.
The path ahead will not be easy, given the ambitions and aspirations of India and China, both in the region and globally, but the ending of the four-and-a-half year long standoff on the LAC has set the stage for earnest efforts to address the border dispute. The disengagement of forces at “friction points” on the LAC is a relatively easier component of the overall process, and much more political will and protracted negotiations will be required to address the more complex issues of de-escalation, restoration of status quo and normalisation of the bilateral relationship.
Some experts have even suggested that India and China may need to go back to the drawing board to fashion new confidence-building measures since the credibility of the agreements concluded in the 1990s have been hit hard by China’s actions. There is the issue of returning to the status quo on the LAC that existed in April 2020, most recently enunciated by the Indian Army chief, and addressing the issue of “buffer zones” created in the past four years and full restoration of access to patrolling points that Indian troops could go up before the start of the face-off. In this context, it is unhelpful that the Indian statement on the WMCC meeting spoke of the recent disengagement completing the “resolution of the issues” which emerged in 2020, especially when foreign minister S Jaishankar had told Parliament that both sides are yet to discuss de-escalation and effective management of activities in the border areas.
There must be greater clarity and cohesion in approaching this issue to ensure a lasting resolution that also ensures national security.