New Delhi, September 21
With the Indian and Chinese armies locked in a face-off at Chumar and adjoining Demchok in Ladakh for the past 12 consecutive days, it is clear that the existing agreements to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have failed to yield result so far.

More the LAC tension mounts between the two neighbours, more the efficacy of these agreements, especially the April 2005 signed protocol, comes under question. Referred to as the ‘2005 protocol’, it is a guiding preamble for troops stationed on either side along the 3,488-km LAC. Iron-cast provisions, agreed upon at the highest political level, have been violated at Chumar.

These were not respected during the April/May 2013 stand-off at Depsang plains, 650 km north of Chumar. Similarly, the October 2013 signed Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) has not helped de-escalate the situation.

The de-escalation at the level of military commanders flows from the 2005 protocol named as “… Modalities for the Implementation of CBMs in the Military Field Along the LAC in the India-China Border Areas”. Article IV of the protocol lays down that whenever either side perceives a transgression across the LAC, soldiers should display a banner with a slogan painted across. Called the ‘‘banner drill”, it tells the other party to back off from the present positions of patrolling. Since the LAC is not demarcated on ground, its perception in India and China varies, hence troops often come face to face in disputed areas.

On seeing the banners, the protocol says: “Both sides shall cease their activities in the area, not advance any further, and simultaneously return to their bases… If necessary, immediate consultations ( shall follow) through border meetings or diplomatic channels to prevent an escalation”.

In the ongoing face-off, the “banners drills” have failed, prolonged flag meetings between military commanders at ‘Spanggur Gap’ have yielded nothing. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing the matter in New Delhi on September 18, the face-off continues and the arch of troops facing each other gets widened.

India assesses the face-off as a Chinese attempt to fix the LAC as per its perception. In case of Chumar, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China wants access to a 14,600-ft-high mountain pass named ‘30-R’. India holds the pass on its side and has objected to a Chinese road in the area in disputed areas south of the pass.

The BDCA signed in 2013 formalised a pact not to tail each other’s patrols in the areas where there is no common understanding of the LAC, and laid down the right to seek a clarification. The BDCA further asks both sides to exercise maximum self-restraint, which is hardly evident in the current face-off.