Author: Stephan Lang!
On the 1st October 1967, almost exactly five years after the Sino-Indian War, the
Chola Incident occurred. This one-day skirmish stemmed from PLA troops crossing the McMahon Line into the province of Sikkim, resulting in ten Chinese and four Indian deaths.
In mid-1987 a less intense skirmish between Indian and Chinese troops took place in the very far northeast of India in the Sumdorong Chu Valley. A restrained affair, it resulted in no fatalities but was confirmation once again of the fragile peace existing across the former British dominion border.
In exchange for recognising Sikkim as a province in 1993, India officially accepted Tibet as an autonomous region of China and a
‘line of actual control’ was agreed across their disputed borders. The passage of time, coupled with the economic importance of the Sino-Indian trading relationship, has seen the preservation of the line of actual control, despite Indian claims that the Chinese have violated it 500 times since 2010.
This accusation, coupled with China’s recent serious incursion, It is testament to the forces of nationalism, history and the vast size of both countries and a reminder that such events are always likely to reoccur. Removed from their political masters, the army generals on the Himalayan frontier between China and India can act with a degree of impunity, aware that the quashing of their ambitions will take at the very least time if not great resources and political persuasion.
Whilst wary eyes are cast towards the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula for the potential flashpoints of regional conflict, a thought should be spared for the precarious balance of power along the old McMahon Line. It would only take a slight miscalculation of judgement for Asia’s two biggest powers to be brought to the brink of war. Whatever economic interdependence may exist between the two states could be dashed by the wants of sovereignty and nationalism.