Wait and watch

IT is no coincidence that India and China have reached an agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on the eve of the BRICS summit in Russia, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The ‘major breakthrough’ has set the stage for a cordial encounter between the two leaders, who have been reluctant to talk to each other after the Galwan clash of June 2020. They finally have something positive to show to the world amid a four-year-old standoff that has kept armies of the two nations in a state of round-the-clock readiness. What’s more, the perception that Modi and Xi can act as mediators in the Ukraine war hinges on their ability to resolve their own differences.

However, it is too early to expect that the situation on the ground will become normal anytime soon. New Delhi knows very well that Beijing has a knack for disregarding border agreements; the latest one could meet a similar fate. Unilateral alteration of the status quo by Chinese troops is at the core of the present dispute. And it is largely due to Chinese intransigence that disengagement from the friction points of Depsang and Demchok got delayed despite a series of military and diplomatic talks.

China’s massive infrastructure buildup along the LAC is a telltale sign that it wants India to stay busy catching up. The Indian Government and the defence forces would be well advised to keep a close eye on Chinese movements along the border. Attempts to mislead the nation with half-truths and falsehoods must be avoided. The PM set a wrong precedent when he claimed during a post-Galwan all-party meeting that ‘neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured’. Greater vigil and transparency can help India push China harder to walk the talk.