Colonel Satish Singh Lalotra
Important boundaries and lines of the world encompass a diverse array of demarcations that hold immense significance in shaping global politics, geography and historical narratives. These lines though appearing to a lay man on the map as just a set of designs are in fact’markers’ separating nations, defining disputed territories and symbolizing ideological divisions. From the heavily fortified ’38th parallel’ in the case of Korean peninsula to the ‘Durand line’ between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the live wire of LOC (Line of Control) between India and Pakistan these boundaries represent complex geopolitical landscapes. Rather lines / boundaries between nations encapsulate the intricacies of global affairs, deciding fates of millions of people living on both sides of these demarcations leaving an indelible mark on the regional as well as world peace and stability. Borders serve as the physical manifestation of a nation’s sovereignty, marking the territory under its control. Sovereignty grants a country the authority to rule its citizens and make decisions as per the national writ that are bound to be respected in its entirety. By marking territorial distinctions on ground as well as on the map by way of cartographic reach these distinctions symbolize the beginning and end of a nation state’s authority which are respected by the world bodies without any compunction. Any transgression of these boundaries is taken as a sign of international breach of peace and stability in the region.
India, by its very unique disposition in the the world, commands a special place that is bound to ruffle feathers of many a powerful country. China is one such power that has been for times immemorial proving the proverbial ‘thorn in the flesh’for India. Notwithstanding the age old historical cum cultural ties between the two Asian giants, Chinese as a race has been known to profess openly a policy of hegemony bound by the tenets of ‘power mongering’. This brazen display of power mongering came to the fore more so after the culmination of the ‘cultural revolution’ in 1949.With the departure of colonial powers of the western world from most of the Asian continent post the 2WW , the power vacuum so left was bound to be filled in by an equally powerful emerging nation aka ‘The PRC( People’s republic of China). Cartographic aggression followed by a physical nibbling of the Indian land became the ‘sine quo non’ of de facto Chinese stance that finally resulted in the typical ‘War in the high Himalayas’ in 1962 from which India still has not been able to emerge fully. Post 1962 , both India and china adopted a policy of a relative NWNP( No war no peace) on its northern frontiers abutting the Tibetan plateau with minor aberrations in their boundary dispute ostensibly owing to differing in perceptions the way LAC (Line of Actual Control) ran between the two Asian giants. The decades of late 1950s right till the end of 60s was marked by a heightened sense of disquiet on the Sino-Indian border front. With the debacle of 1962 still chasing like a ‘Himalayan apparition’ the body politic’ of India and both our western and northern adversary leaving no stone unturned to put the sub-continent in a pincer , the aggressive Chinese stance adopted during the 1965 between India and Pakistan left no doubt in the Indian minds of a lingering ‘two-front war’. This ‘two- front war’ albeit in a more tacit way was in its full manifestation during the current and ongoing ‘OP Sindoor’ when China brazenly supported Pakistan not only diplomatically, psychologically but also materially in its war efforts. It’s a different matter that these efforts were stymied from their fruition by India’s aggressive CNP (Comprehensive national power).
The Chinese aggressive diplomatic stand during the indo-Pak war of 1965 directing India to vacate certain Himalayan passes notably the Nathu La and Jelep La was guided by three fold objectives. Firstly to lend tacit support to its friend Pakistan, secondly to put indirect pressure on India to open up a second front and finally to test India’s resolve to guard its northern front post 1962 drubbing.China more or less coincided its sabre rattling on India’s vacating Himalayan passes with the time line of progression of Indo-Pak war in 1965. From 7th to 12th September 1965 with the Indo-Pak conflagration in full swing , the ‘Chinese demarche’ issued to India accused the latter of building military infra deep inside the Chinese territory (Nathu La and Jelep La). China sent overnight demarches both at our diplomatic mission in Peking (Beijing) as well as New Delhi saying these two positions were well within the Chinese territory. On 16th September 1965 China issued a 72 hour ultimatum to India demanding immediate dismantling of its military infra on these two passes failing which ‘grave consequences’ awaited India. From 19th to 20th September 1965 China warned of an armed action against India. The Chinese bluster was torn asunder by the Shastri administration with India steadfastly guarding its frontiers on the Sikkim front. Cut to more recently 2025 post OP Sindoor exactly 58 years later the blasting of Chinese military hardware respectively became an abiding symbol of Chinese military and diplomatic ‘grandstanding’ that sent ripples across both sides of theinternational date line. The summary disposal of Chinese military hardware in terms of their missiles, drones, radars, and front line fighter aircrafts by India that were gifted to their bosom friend Pakistan just before and during ‘OP Sindoor’ was a big ‘Déjà vu’ for the combined duo of present generation and the older lot of Indians.
Calling the bluff of Chinese hegemony which it was riding high on victory gained during the 1962 border skirmishes, the politico -military combine of 1967 of India took the battle straight into the enemy camp when on 11th September 1967, the army gave a bloody nose to the PLA much to their chagrin. The synergy that was on display i.e both the politico-military combine during 1967 clash on the watershed in the form of Major Generals Sagat Singh and Lt General Jagjit Singh Arora who were at the helm over there along with Mrs Gandhi heading the central government is reminiscent of the present set up in the form of PM Modi and a resolute tri command of army, navy and the IAF. Both of these incidents happened in 1967 and2025 just five years after the 1962 war and the infamous Galwan clashes of 2020. Both were triggered due to sheer intransigence shown by China and Pakistan respectively. Though the latter one at Pahalgam was a direct consequence of decades of Pakistani perfidy that it has been now professing to no end. Both the incidents restored Indian army’s confidence which was on a low ebb after the 1962 debacle and the repeated Pakistani attempts to destabilize the nation state of India by its state sponsored terrorism respectively. Two diametrically disparate situations, though having the commonality of undermining country’s sovereignty .Comparing 1967 Nathu La clashes with that to ‘OP Sindoor’ (unrelated in both timeline and context) nonetheless sent ‘strategic messaging’ to our Northern neighbour China and Pakistan unambiguously. In case of Nathu La clashes, PLA of China expected Indian troops to back down as it happened in 1962. Instead India retaliated with direct artillery fire asking permission to engage the enemy across the LAC with heavy artillery .Coming a tad late from New Delhi, the permission to engage the PLA proved though a clincher . Unlike 1962, India didn’t buckle under the Chinese duress to vacate both Nathu La and Jelep La mountain passes. With armed forces standing rock solid behind a resolute national will as displayed by a still green horn PM Indira Gandhi , the shock factor delivered to China (notwithstanding its midnight demarches to our ambassador/ Charge d affaires PK Banerjee and arrest of Krishnan Raghunath a 1962 batch IFS officer on espionage charges) was profound as never seen before.
Similarly with regards to Pakistan, the very hitting of its entire length and breadth by the latest Indian armaments during ‘OP Sindoor’ has been registered as both a tactical and strategic messaging having no equals in the sub-continent. As far as nature of conflict with our western adversary was concerned , it escalated from the hybrid warfare undertaken by Pakistan by its direct involvement in Pahalgam killings ,drawing subsequently latest artillery engagements coupled with a high tech incorporation of drones, missiles , UCAVs, fighter aircrafts, AD platforms latched on to a sophisticated air defence shield and the ilk. Whereasin case of China in 1967, the conflict quickly shot up the escalatory ladder from local scuffles turning into artillery and infantry engagements along the LAC. In both cases India held its positions firmly and squarely. These clashes marked the first clear military victory for India over the PLA Post -1962. The high point of the clash across the watershed in 1967 showed China, that India would resist with everything under its command to alter the border unilaterally. The military engagement at both Nathula and subsequently at Chola established a long peace on the Sikkim border until 2020 at Doklam/ Galwan elsewhere. The latest military engagements between India and its bête noire Pakistan during ‘OP Sindoor’ was a test bed for a host of countries to evaluate the performance of their weapon systems , chiefly among them the People’s republic of China and Turkiye (Turkey) who had lent their weapons and associated accessories to Pakistan. The abject blunting of the sheer effectiveness of these weapons by India’s indigenous weapons having a hue of ‘Atmnribhar’ concept at the core of its existence, will be a milestone in the long run for future generations of our armed forces planners. In both 1967 and 2025 during OP Sindoor, both China and Pakistan were stumped by the quick recoil of Indian armed forces that were primed precisely as if for this kind of retaliation. Here again one is reminded of the synergy between the political cum military dispensation of India that was on full display 58 years back and even today, thereby underscoring the need for a robust understanding of each other’s point of view. The effect was more telling on China for the simple reason that for decades it had been its wont for placing both India and Pakistan on the same footing despite knowing the asymmetry that existed between the two nations. Maybe China is in the habit of playing up its master strategist ‘Sun Tzu’ saying -‘In crisis lies opportunity’. It had been consistently playing up this dictum right from 1949 onwards towards India.
With India embroiled in the first Kashmir war (1947-49) as well as focused internally ,China intruded into Tibet, in 1962 with the world attention diverted due to the ‘Cuban missile crisis as well as ‘Bay of Pigs’ it attacked India. More recently with world in the grip of Corona pandemic China bared its fang at Galwan in 2020. And now with Pahalgam crisis few months back it tried to hard sell its myriad weapons to Pakistan as a test bed for their efficacy only to fall flat. With the SCO (Shangai cooperation organization) Tianjin summit 2025 still to be decoded for its full effect, it would do well for India to keep its ‘powder dry’ and leave no stone unturned to call off the grandstanding of both Sino-Pak collusion. Since in international relations there are no permanent friends. There are only permanent national interests.
(The writer is a retired army officer)
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