Border Intrusion: Is China Taking Advantage of India's Restraint?

Chinese troops have reportedly intruded into the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, despite talks of maintaining status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) till a final settlement on the disputed region is made.

The incident happened not long after Chinese troops intruded into Depsang, Ladakh, in April before entering Chumar sector on 17 June, creating tension in the border region.

According to NDTV, Chinese troops entered eastern Arunachal Pradesh's Chaglagam area and stayed there for three to four days. Locals reported on 13 August that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) entered Anjaw district of the state before leaving the place.

The locals said that PLA forces are camping at the Plamplam check post and efforts are on to make them leave. They added that there are six unmanned check posts in the region which are supposed to be guarded by the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP).

The LAC in Arunachal Pradesh witnesses frequent intrusion by Chinese troops, and Indian troops are finding it difficult to guard the stretch due to lack of roads on their side. Moreover, Indian authorities have been maintaining restraint by downplaying reports of such intrutions.

However, Indian authorities seemed to have finally sensed the intensity after Chinese troops stayed in Chaglagam area for three to four days, which they never did in the past. India's C-130J Super Hercules transport plane landed near the LAC in Daulat Beg Oldie on Tuesday, sending a strong message of her stand on the region.

It may be recalled that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) recently approved the army's proposal to raise a mountain strike corps along the China border with an aim to strengthen its military force along the LAC. The strike corps with a strength of about 45,000, which will be raised to counter a rising Chinese military along the border, is expected to cost ₹62,000 crore.

The decision to raise a mountain strike corps came after repeated intrusion by Chinese troops.

It may be recalled that Chinese troops intruded into Depsang, Ladakh, in April this year and created tension in the region before withdrawing after 21 days. They entered Chumar sector on 17 June and vandalised high-resolution cameras installed in the areas by the Indian army to check the movement of their Chinese counterparts in the region.