New Delhi: India isn’t too perturbed over the recent spate of tense incidents between its security forces and the Chinese military near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), even as it is unlikely to change its stance on including Taiwan in the World Health Organization’s top decision-making body, ThePrint has learnt.
According to a top diplomatic source, “usual” border tensions will continue between the two sides until the LAC is defined. The events over the last weekend have come as China is taking advantage of the coronavirus distraction in the region.
“Unless the LAC is defined officially, these kinds of scuffles will happen. There are local-level mechanisms in place to mitigate such matters. Such scuffles usually break out in the spring and summer seasons as the snow on these regions melts and both sides start to demarcate their own versions of the LAC,” a top diplomatic source told ThePrint.
Tensions between India and China flared up once again on the border last weekend as soldiers on both sides resorted to “exchanging blows” in Ladakh and Sikkim regions. On Sunday, certain unconfirmed reports came to light about tensions building up in the Ladakh region after two Chinese choppers were spotted close to the LAC, which led the Indian Air Force (IAF) to rush in its jets. This later turned out to be regular sorties of IAF’s frontline fighter jet Su-30.
“The LAC is a question that comes up in every high-level meeting and there is an understanding between both sides that unless it is clearly defined and demarcated such scuffles at the ground level will take place. China also knows it but they are just taking advantage of the current distraction that India is having with the pandemic. They will not escalate or intensify it,” the source added.
According to sources, China is following this “pattern” with not just India but with the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan by ratcheting up tensions in the South China Sea even as these countries battle the pandemic, which first broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year.
“Such border face-offs have been happening earlier also and these will continue. This is nothing new. There is no stand-off as of now as it has been mitigated. It will be immature to see every border incident as another Doklam,” said S.L. Narasimhan, a member of the National Security Advisory Board.
India and China had a prolonged military standoff in the tri-junction area near Bhutan’s Doklam in 2017.
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No change in stance on Taiwan
Amid these tensions, international pressure has been also mounting on India, particularly from the US, to recognise Taiwan’s older status as an ‘observer’ in the WHO’s main decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA).
With New Delhi set to assume the chairmanship of the WHA by the end of May, the US has been nudging India to take Taiwan on board of the body that President Donald Trump has called China’s “PR agency”.
“India at no cost and under no pressure from anyone will change its fundamental policy on Taiwan. This is something you can never do under pressure or anything. This is out of question,” said a second source, who didn’t wish to be named.
India has always recognised Taiwan to be part of China under the ‘One China’ policy. After snapping ties with Taiwan in 1949, India did not change its policy even after the 1962 India-China war.
According to Narasimhan, “As of now we only have trade relations with Taiwan. Any future course of action is for the government to decide.”
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