China and India dig in at Himalayan border, with an eye on Washington
- There is no resolution in sight in the months-long border stand-off, with both countries’ militaries reinforcing their positions and no talks scheduled
- Analysts say Beijing is trying to get a better feel for what US President-elect Joe Biden’s China policy might be before making its next move
Talks between the two countries have all but been derailed since military officials last met two months ago – the longest gap in such negotiations since May – with both sides reinforcing their positions and digging their heels in.
Unverified images that have surfaced on Chinese social media recently show Indian and Chinese tanks and other armoured vehicles lined up in a face-off metres away from each other.
Chinese troops have already moved forward in strategically sensitive areas like Depsang, so they don’t need to do anything now
On Monday, Indian Army chief M.M. Naravane spelt out India’s position on the stand-off, saying at a press conference that his country was “ready for the long haul” and that its troops were prepared to “hold our ground as long as it takes”.
In the last two days, India’s chief of defence staff, General Bipin Rawat, and air force chief, R.K.S. Bhaduria, have visited forward areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the unmarked, de facto border separating Ladakh from the Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin region. Around the same time, online videos have surfaced of Chinese troops conducting drills in the area.
Intelligence analysts later identified the area to be just 36km (22 miles) away from the Indian region of Depsang in northern Ladakh.
With tensions rising and talks unlikely any time soon, the stand-off is likely to continue through the harsh winter that engulfs the Himalayan region of Ladakh until April, with temperatures dropping to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit).