Border row high on bilateral agenda with China now

NEW DELHI: Though the Chinese troops' withdrawal ended the stand-off in Ladakh, the Sino-Indian boundary dispute will loom larger in the upcoming bilateral engagement during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit than it would ordinarily have.

According to intelligence sources, prior to the withdrawal, the Chinese were assured by the Indian side that their concerns over the Indian border fortifications that have come up in Chumar, as well as the recent strengthening of infrastructure "too close to the LoC", would be taken up soon at the highest level.

"This may possibly mean that the boundary issue may figure more prominently in Li's upcoming visit to India on May 20," a senior government official told TOI.

Incidentally, the assessment in the security establishment has been that the Chinese incursion, some 19 km into what India perceives as its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), was essentially to flag the border demarcation issue and force India to move beyond brushing aside each incursion as a "difference of perception between India and China over LAC."

The Chinese troops' unprecedented act of pitching tents and staying put for days together at the point of incursion, rather than following the laid down border protocol of retreating soon after Indian border troops raise a banner, was possibly to make a point that it was time that the border row was addressed.

The timing was perfect, coming as it did just ahead of Li's visit. In fact, the flagging of concerns over the border fortifications at the earlier flag meetings, the ITBP believes, may have been an after-thought and meant to prolong the stand-off until closer to the Chinese premier's visit.

With the troops finally agreeing to retreat, India expects the tents to be pulled down on Sunday night, resulting in an all-clear by Monday morning. But as officials pointed out, the Chinese appear to have already achieved the purpose behind their latest border provocation: to make the border issue a prominent item on the agenda for Li's visit.