Author: Pravin Sawhney
Affiliation: Force Magazine
Organization/Publisher: The Wire
Date/Place: June 10, 2020/ India
Type of Literature: Analysis
Word Count: 3500
Link:https://thewire.in/diplomacy/heres-why-alls-not-well-for-india-on-the-ladakh-front
Keywords: China, India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Line of Actual Control, UN, Strategic Support Force, Military Force
Brief:
This analysis was published five days before soldiers of People’s Liberation Army, of China, piled up 20 bodies of Indian troopers in Ladakh area of disputed Kashmir region. China borders Kashmir on its northern side where Ladakh is located, and since May India, which occupies Kashmir, is in clash with China in the area. The two sides claim sovereignty over the land which is a disputed territory under United Nations resolutions. The border that separates India in occupied Kashmir from China is called the Line of Actual Control, not International Boundary, as the two sides claimed borders are yet to be demarcated. In this report, the author says India is facing a localized two-front-war to hem in the Indian Army on the Siachen glacier from two sides – the Pakistan Army on the west and the PLA on the east as both partners have achievable political objectives and military aims. The tensions between China and India were particularly exacerbated since August 5, 2019 when India re-annexed Jammu and Kashmir and divided the disputed region in the two centrally-controlled units. India’s actions are a broad day violation of over 18 UN resolutions that call India and Pakistan to maintain the status quo which was achieved in the 1950s. The author says India believes in its strategy of hardened posture, but that it will generate the opposite effect. The Indian establishment instead will deploy large numbers of its troops to man the LAC, like the Line of Control that divided Kashmir between Pakistan and India. However, the author’s terming of armed resistance in occupied Kashmir as terrorism raises questions on Indian intelligentsia.
By: Riyaz ul Khaliq, CIGA Non-Resident Associate
