Shall the twain never meet?

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: As bilateral relations nose-dived on border transgressions issue and the impending visit of the Dalai Lama to Tawang, the civilian leaderships of India and China preferred to de-escalate tensions for the time being. Thus Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with his counterpart Wen Jiabao in Thailand as well as External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s meeting with his counterpart Yang Jiechi at Bengaluru emphasised on maintaining stability and peace on the border areas. Yet differences between the two countries seems to be widening. Fundamentally, the unresolved border dispute is breeding destabilising tendencies in the bilateral relations.

Firstly, the number of transgressions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) increased. Nearly 150 transgressions on the LAC were reported in 2007, while in 2008 as any as 270 transgressions and 2,300 instances of patrolling were done by the Chinese frontier guards.

Sikkim surprisingly, despite the opening up of border trade, reported transgressions. In the first half of 2008, nearly 65 Chinese transgressions occurred in Sikkim culminating in the Finger Point issue. Before, Sikkim never reported any transgressions as the 1890 treaty clearly resolved the border in the area. In August 2009 reported firing on the border between Sikkim and Tibet was, however, denied by the Indian defence ministry. In 1967, skirmishes between the Chinese and Indian forces at Nathu La and Cho La, resulted in Jelep La being occupied by the Chinese forces. Also, farther east, in 1986-87 Samdurong Chu incident was reported with China mobilising troops. To counter, Indian army mobilised T-72 tanks and armoured personnel carriers, in addition to strengthening long-distance surveillance systems and re-inducting 27 Mountain Division.

Transgressions on the Chinese side became easier due to better road connectivity to the Out Posts on the Chinese side, while only three such outposts in Arunachal Pradesh are accessible by road. In the western and middle sectors of the border as well, the Indian outposts are located in inaccessible terrain. These issues highlighted the need for better infrastructure and physical connectivity on the Indian side. About 27 roads are to be constructed—with 11 in Arunachal Pradesh— costing nearly Rs 9,000 crore but progress is tardy. In the interim, India intends to utilise its time-tested option—strengthening the air force assets- to plug the loopholes. For instance, Daulat Beg Oldi and Fukche airfields were operationalised in Ladakh on May 31 and November 4, 2008 respectively, while Nyoma was opened this year.