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Strategic Vision vol. 10, no. 48 (February, 2021)
Locking Horns
Chinese, Indian troops clash as border tensions flare up in Eastern Ladakh Amrita Jash
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order tensions between India and China that have troubled the region since May 2020 took a violent turn when troops of the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) clashed in the Galwan Valley on June 15 in Eastern Ladakh, resulting in the most serious military casualties seen in 45 years. Up to this point, border frictions had been characterized by a lack of weapons fire, but the recent spate of casualties threw a spanner into the works. While the Galwan clash occurred in
Indian territory, Beijing put the blame on New Delhi: The PLA’s move was “a response to India’s actions;” specifically, what the Chinese leadership consider “illegal construction of defense facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region,” according to Beijing’s state-run media outlet, the Global Times. This has resulted in troop buildups and high alert on both sides of the contested border given the ongoing face-off at two points: the Galwan River (which
photo: Eatcha The Shyok River (The River of Death) flows through northern Ladakh in India and the Ghangche District of Gilgit–Baltistan of Pakistan.
Dr. Amrita Jash is a research fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) in New Delhi, India. She holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University.