China-India relationship could turn into a foreign policy headache for PM Narendra Modi

SRINAGAR: The love-hate Sino-Indian relationship could turn into a foreign policy headache for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is otherwise keen to copy Beijing’s manufacturing model for India.

A high-level Indian delegation currently visiting China notwithstanding, the Red Army has resumed breaching the line of actual control (LoAC) in Ladakh.

The latest incident took place at Eastern Ladakh’s Pangong lake, which is divided between India and China’s autonomous Tibet region. A 45 km stretch is Indian while a 90 km stretch is Chinese.

Last week, four Chinese interceptor speed boats came nearly 6 km across and returned well after spending two hours on the India side. Officials privy to the development said it’s not uncommon for Chinese troops to cut across the lake.

They sometimes even use mini-submarines to get deep into the Ladakh side of the lake. The ‘incursion’ came days after Beijing released official maps staking China’s claim over the Tawang belt in Arunachal Pradesh besides parts of Jammu & Kashmir.