At times it is hard to believe that the border between India and China remains unsettled after more than 50 years because of China’s refusal to accept the McMahon Line as the border between itself and India. China has accepted the McMahon Line at the Burma-China border and this fact remains an illustration of China’s double standard for India. The fact that the Chinese Communist Party first disputed the border, only after India learnt and protested that China had built Highway 219 right through the Middle of Indian territory in the Mid 1950s. Chinese Premiere Zhou Enlai, had until 1956 stated that China had no dispute with India regarding territory. He even stated this after Prime Minister Nehru questioned a Chinese Communist Party Map, which Zhou Enlai handed him, which showed Akasai Chin as part of China, this action was after India learning of Highway 219. In 1958, Zhou Enlai would simply state that India needed to counter offer but never accepted the fact that China had built a highway. Instead he began using the term of “Actual Control”, and this meant that China had taken which amounted to half of Aksai Chin and now wanted to dictate a new border. The Chinese side came up with Imperial Claims to the land, and in reality these claims were not demarcated nor definite even if they were true. India did not counter with legacy maps of past Indian Empires. China could only claim Tibet because of the Yuan Dynasty had occupied Tibet, but the Yuan Dynasty was a Mongol Dynasty, so in essence the British who had governed India when the McMahon line was put in place were no more foreign or illegitimate in this case. Besides the Mauryan Dynasty which unified India in 260 B.C. was of Indian Origin and in this case the border would be far more in India’s favor. India did not even bring into play the fact the Mughal Dynasty had also expanded similarly so there were three historical instances to China’s single one. The fact was Tibet had also ruled over Chinese territory historically. Tibet was and is culturally more similar to India than to China.
Highway 219 built in 1953–55 without informing India, runs directly through Aksai Chin.
P.M. Nehru could have at this time prepared for a true war, but instead began a forward border policy to try to regain the lost territory. Contrary to what China has painted as the image of those years before the 1962, Sino-Indian war, India was not stepping across the McMahon Line in some regions as a sign of aggression. India had already seen it’s territorial sovereignty violated by China as Highway 219 ran deep into Indian Territory. One of the positions India could have taken was to try to negotiate the exchange of this land for an equal number of square miles somewhere else. But, in all reality the idea of this dispute, and later encroachment was not understood by the Indian side as being something which would lead to war.
India had not even tried to stop China’s invasion of Tibet in 1950. Instead India, had supported the idea of accepting the Communist Revolution in China, as being legitimate and every possible effort was made to integrate China into the Non-Aligned Movement which India led. The idea of an Indo-China alliance was viewed as greater for the benefit of Asia than efforts to place emphasis on China’s aggressiveness in Tibet and complete disregard of human rights. P.M. Nehru’s legacy today is largely lost because of his embrace of China and the 1962 attack on India.
After the loss of Aksai Chin in it’s entirely in 1962, and the end of the Sino-Indian War, the reality set in, that P.M. Nehru had mismanaged the war effort. It is true India did not have vast resources to fight the Chinese Invasion, but China also did not have resources for a long war. In fact, had the war dragged out longer, the Chinese advance would have stopped because of their inability to supply their troops, and the Indian Military would have now fought on ground and climate they were familiar with. Without a doubt Indian Victories would have followed. But, P.M. Nehru had lost his composure at this time, and instead of deploying the vastly superior Indian Air force did not do so, because he believed that this would amplify the price of war. Well, from a strictly military perceptive, China did not have great ability to bomb India. As flying from Tibet to India in 1962, was not possible with any significant ordinances. The altitude restricts the capacity of modern fighter jets even today, India held and holds an advantage as Indian Airbases are far closer and at far lower altitudes compared to China. Prime Minister Nehru and Krishna Menon were both not familiar enough with weaponry to run the war effort, but not only did they do so but also made sure that those who were capable were sidelined.
Prime Minister Nehru and Defense Secretary Krishna Menon
When looking at the current situation with the knowledge of what occurred before, a sense of confidence is present. There is a strategy in place, and the resources available are being used. Unlike the past, there is no possibility of India just giving in to pressure and not finding a solution. The recent attempts by China to unilaterally redefine the Line of Control has been thwarted, and though the Chinese Communist Party cannot admit this, the conflict is not longer one that suits their parameters to continue. A quick and painless acquisition of territory was required by them, in this there was no room for causalities or stiff resistance and counter attacks. The fact that this is happened, only is all the more difficult to accept as India finally looks at the L.A.C. as subject to interpretation as well. For too long, the border has been questioned by China, and India maintained it’s straight forward position even after losing territory. If the border is not accepted by China, than the onus of upholding a static border may not be in India’s interests either. The reversal of this game, is not one China has a doctrine for. For the border should not sporadically be made into a war zone by China, and the realization of this fact should be understood. The border intrusions will have to end, as the stakes have increased, China is not infallible.
Ancient Civilizations like India and China, well understand the philosophy of politics and warfare. The advantage of having control of mountains in the Indian Himalayas is more important than having brute firepower. India has more mountain trained soldiers than perhaps any nation, and their experience is more extensive than China’s. The West looks at tension as being mutual between India and China but it leans more towards India’s side than it did in the past. At the same time the West wants an alliance with India to deal with China’s expansionism. While this idea, on the surface this seems like a simple decision for India, it is not. Unlike the Government Controlled Chinese Media, portrays India, the fact is that India never wanted an alliance to contain China. India kept its economy closed to outside Investment until 1991. China on the other hand opened it’s economy in the 1970s. China would turn against the Soviet Union early on, and during the 1980s supported Pakistan along with the U.S., Britain and Saudi Arabia. China has overplayed its role with the West, and in Asia, instead an expansionist nation is seen.
A.Q. Khan and the Pakistani Atomic Bomb.
The U.S. would turn a blind eye as Pakistan inched towards an Atomic Weapon which was in incredibly close cooperation with China. Pakistan unlike India has Uranium, and in the future it may well prove to be a resource for China. The fact is that India and the West have more in common than apart in 2020. This situation did not occur by Indian design but rather came about because of China’s own actions.
The irony of many tales is that the actions of one affect another in a way which not intended. China embraced U.S. investment in China as a way to solidify Communism not to embrace capitalism or democracy. It also saw, that this would bring immense capital and markets under the control of China. The industrial workers which Communism produces in greater quantity than Capitalist nations is today powering China. For China is no longer a low cost labor nation, but what it has today is the greatest collection of skilled technical workers in the world. India on the other hand never emphasized this type of education and pursued building higher education which produces scientists, doctors engineers and business people. The clash in the Indian Himalayas is about more than just land, it is about two systems and global outlook. India wishes to become a self sufficient nation at every level, but does not have a goal of expansionism. China wishes to challenge the economic system of the world, and gain victory. At a deep level it has not changed since it was the Middle Kingdom. The West really never understood India or China at a deep level. India was never recognized for her precolonial past and unity of ideals, and China was imagined to be different than it really was or is. The Conflict in the Indian Himalayas must finally make the West rethink what kind of future the world should have. Mahatma Gandhi, and sages of India before him knew that Mutual Coexistence was the only viable path, implementing it is a goal which cannot be put off much longer.
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