Here’s what we know about the clash between India, China soldiers in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh

India-China clash: What has happened in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh?

The Defence Minister told Lok Sabha that on December 9, PLA troops carried out an incursion (“atikraman”) across the LAC in Yangtse area of Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh, and attempted to unilaterally change the status quo.

Indian troops resisted this attempt by China “with firmness”, and there was a scuffle (“haathapai”) in this faceoff. “Our Army with great bravery stopped the PLA incursion and forced them to return to their post,” the Defence Minister said.

He said that some soldiers on both sides sustained some injuries in the clash (“jhadap”), but no Indian soldier had been killed or had been seriously wounded. Subsequently, the local commander of the Army held a flag meeting with his Chinese counterpart on December 11, where the Chinese side was asked to maintain peace on the border. The matter has been raised with the Chinese side at the diplomatic level as well, Rajnath Singh said.

What kind of “clash” was this on the LAC?

Sources told The Indian Express that the soldiers on the two sides beat each other with sticks and canes. The Indian soldiers who were injured in the clash are recuperating in a Guwahati hospital, the sources said. This was the closest encounter that Indian troops and the PLA have had since the deadly Galwan incident in eastern Ladakh in June 2020.

On December 12, the Army had said in a statement that the “face-off led to minor injuries to few personnel from both sides”. However, “both sides immediately disengaged from the area”, the Army said.

The India-China face-off on December 9 was in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh

Where exactly did the India-China clash take place, and how did it begin?

The clash took place at about 3 am on December 9 at a nullah along the LAC in the Tawang heights near a point called Yangtse in Eastern Tawang. This part of the LAC is one of the “agreed disputed areas” between the two sides, according to military sources.

Indian and Chinese troops are positioned on either side of the nullah, but on this night, some 300 Chinese troops came into the Indian side.

There were no warning signs about the transgression and hearing the sentries being assaulted, some 70 to 80 Indian troops mobilised quickly in the dead of night to push back the intruders. There was intense hand-to-hand combat with sticks and canes for a few hours, according to sources.

Identifying the areas of dispute on the Line of Actual Control

Why did the Chinese soldiers cross over to the Indian side?

A military source told The Indian Express that “In certain areas along the LAC in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh there are areas of differing perception, where both sides patrol the area up to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006.”

A similar transgression had taken place in June 2016 when around 250 PLA soldiers had transgressed into the area but no clashes were reported then. A military officer who has served in the area told The Indian Express that there was no predicting when the PLA would carry out such operations as “the Chinese perpetually control the escalatory ladder in that area” and they do so “at a place of their choosing”.

A top source in the government told The Indian Express that this time the PLA had “pre-planned” the transgression for an “opportune” time. The location of the skirmish is described as heavily forested terrain, with Chinese troops occupying “top of the wall” positions with deep supply lines and infrastructure.

Due to snowfall in the area, this was also the time for some Indian troops to withdraw from their positions, giving the Chinese side a further tactical upper hand, said the source. A heavy cloud cover also made it challenging for Indian satellites to capture images of any troop build-up.

Is there a larger context to the border clash?

The incident came days after China expressed objection to Operation Yudhabhyas, an India-US joint military exercise at Auli in the Uttarakhand hills, claiming it was a violation of 1993 and 1996 border agreements.

The continuing military tensions at different points along the 3,000 km-LAC comes as New Delhi kicked off a series of events as part of its presidency of the G20, a grouping of the world’s leading economies that includes China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met at the G20 summit in Bali in November and exchanged courtesies but did not hold any substantive talks or discussions.

Meanwhile, what is happening along the LAC in Ladakh?

Just three months ago, in September, Indian and Chinese troops disengaged in the Gogra Hotspring area of Eastern Ladakh, the last of the acknowledged “friction points” that were discussed over 16 rounds of military commander level talks that began in May 2020, after Chinese incursions at several points in the area.

The Galwan incident, which claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers, came after the two sides had discussed disengagement in the area.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses Parliament in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

Tensions in Ladakh continue over the build-up of Chinese troops in Depsang, intrusions in Demchok and the rapid infrastructure build up by the Chinese, including two bridges over the Pangong lake that will reduce Chinese mobilisation time on the southern bank.

Speaking recently on India-China relations, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that “unless there is peace and tranquillity in the border areas… unless there is an observance of agreements and no unilateral attempt to change status quo… the situation cannot be, and is not, normal”.

The Tawang incident has put troops in the area on heightened alert.