India-China border: stand-off continues in Chushul, where ‘mountains eat up men’

Troops from both sides are not backing down on the southern banks of Pangong Tso, and veterans say high-altitude warfare is unpredictable

India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh says the country wants peace but is prepared for all eventualities

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An Indian Air Force fighter jet flies over a mountain range in Leh, the joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, which borders China. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 15 Sep 2020Updated: 9:03am, 16 Sep 2020

Thousands of Indian and Chinese troops are still locked in an impasse across the mountain passes of the Himalayan region of Ladakh and the banks of the glacial lake Pangong Tso, with neither side backing down despite their foreign ministers having agreed five days ago to improve mutual trust and de-escalate tensions.

In New Delhi, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday told parliament India had made clear to China that it would protect its “sovereignty and territorial integrity” at any cost, even as it wanted to resolve the current stand-off – the most serious confrontation the nuclear-armed neighbours have had along their 3,488km undemarcated border in decades.

“We want peace but we are ready for all eventualities,” Singh said, in his most extensive speech on the face-off that has stretched for 18 weeks with no sign of abating. “We should be confident that our armed forces will handle the situation successfully.”

He also accused Chinese troops of transgressions and flouting existing agreements that had allowed both sides to keep the peace despite having different perceptions of the border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Referring to the clash on June 15 – during which soldiers from both sides engaged in brutal hand-to-hand fighting, resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian troops – Singh said the Chinese also suffered “heavy casualties”. Beijing has yet to reveal these numbers.

“The violent conduct of Chinese forces has been in complete violation of all mutually agreed norms,” he said, acknowledging that there continued to be several areas of friction in eastern Ladakh, including the southern bank of Pangong Tso, which is about the size of Singapore.

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