Will India's soft diplomacy make hard bargains on border issues with China?

Rajan Kour

While the bid for diplomatic outreach has been satisfying, the territorial disputes and differences still galore even as the bilateral meeting between Prime minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping was held during the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, under the theme ' Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.

In the meeting with China, India stressed on stronger trade ties while greatly emphasising on stabilizing relations by maintaining peace on the Line Of Actual Control between the two nations.

While following the framework of strategic restraint, India has always maintained that peace and tranquility is imperative for smooth bilateral relations. However the violent Galwan Valley clash in June 2020 at Patrolling Point 14 between the Indian and Chinese soldiers, resulted not only in casualties on both sides but marked an extreme shift in military and diplomatic relationship between the two nations. It turned the Line of Actual Control (LAC) into a heavily militarised zone and bought into spotlight the geopolitical rivalry between the two nuclear armed nations.

As such previous few years have not been smooth for relationship between India and China but due to tremendous military and diplomatic efforts, heads of both countries reached the negotiating table once again in New Delhi after meeting in Tianjin in August 2025 where they prioritised their relationship as relevant partners rather than rivals.

However the New Delhi BRICS Summit once again brought to the fore that the core issue between the two most populous nations in the world is the contested borders which affects not only trade and ties but has the potential to upset the Global world order. Significantly at the Global stage China has regularly blocked Indian bid to become permanent member of United Nations Security Council.

India pursued the right approach after the Galwan clash. Rigorous parleys both diplomatic and military and several meetings of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) were held to ease tensions.

As such in October 2024 agreements saw troop disengagement and demilitarized buffer zones were created in key friction points as Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs, the territory traditionally patrolled by Indian soldiers. The patrolling rights in tactical flashpoints like Demchok in Southeastern Ladakh and Depsang Plains located in Subsector North, 30 kilometres southeast of strategic Daulat Beg Oldie base near the Karakoram pass were restored.

Due to restrictions after the clash, the life of the people too, mostly nomadic tribes residing near the LAC was profoundly affected, as their traditional grazing grounds became out of reach for them.

Being sensitive to the territorial integrity of India, Prime minister Modi explicitly stated during the meeting in BRICS summit that for continued development of ties, India is committed to achieving a mutually acceptable resolution to boundary question. But it would be not out of place to present that over the last several years, China is onto highly calculated maneuvers along the LAC.

As prominent military analysts propound that though these buffer zones are christened as temporary on the territory previously patrolled by Indian soldiers, they view it as a maverick ploy of China to push back India and restrict it's patrolling and surveillance near vital infrastructure. As in Depsang plains which is positioned critically between Chinese controlled Aksai Chin and Siachen Glacier, territorial loss here results two front military link up between China-Pakistan threatening to cut off Siachen.

Although for decades after the Sino Indian war of 1962, the undemarcated boundary spanning from freezing deserts of Western sector of Ladakh to dense forests in Eastern sector of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh remained perceptibly calm but China always knew it's agenda explicitly and it has acted accordingly.

According to analysts China is onto the task of building strategic roads and outposts as early as 1959 when it readied it's Aksai Chin Highway to link Tibet and Xijiang thus starting the violation of the territory in the Western sector of India. After the 2017 Doklam standoff, it's civil and military infrastructure construction gained tremendous momentum, especially Xiaokang ( reasonably well off) villages built near the LAC.

The surge came after the Galwan Valley clashes and according to reports more than 600 Xiaokang' villages have been completed and populated to not only reinforce China's territorial claims but help in surveillance and support military logistics. Reports suggest China has upgraded and rapidly built permanent structures, airfields and bridges over Pangong Tso.

The constructions are viewed as violation of the 2005 India China agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the settlement of boundary question signed on April 11, 2005 in New Delhi during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India.

China however selectively highlights parts of this accord to legitimise it's territorial claims by moving Tibetan residents into these newly built Xiaokang' villages right on the frontier, view the analysts. Article VII of this accord pushes for safeguarding due interests of settled populations in border areas which immensely appeared to be in India's favour to validate it's sovereignty over populated regions like Tawang but establishment of hundreds of Chinese villages primarily along the Eastern sector of LAC mostly opposite Arunachal Pradesh which China claims as South Tibet or Zangnan, speaks about its bare intentions.

Strangely enough despite becoming aware of the frequent Chinese Peoples Liberation army intrusions which according to official data by Ministry of Home Affairs crossed over 400 between 2012- 2014, India failed to give a real impetus to large scale infrastructure development. However Doklam standoff of 2017 and 2020 Galwan clashes pressured India for rapid development of strategic roads, tunnels, bridges and also border villages for a closer military civil cooperation.

The participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping in the 18th BRICS summit, marked his first visit to India since the 2020 violent Galwan Valley clashes, the recently concluded 26th Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan also saw Prime minister Modi and President Xi interact. The BRICS meet closely followed the 25th round of Special Representatives (SR) meeting between Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign minister Wang Yi, both of whom agreed on eight point consensus document stressing ' Early and Substantial Harvest' as a way foward to address border management, trans border rivers and military communications. All this is broadly in line with 2005 Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles whose Article 1 reiterates that boundary question should not be allowed to affect overall development of bilateral relations.

The two nations are expected to adopt sector to sector approach, tackling the less contentious parts of India China border to reach an agreement. Usually Chushul -Moldo border point in Western sector of Ladakh was the meeting point for Corps Commander level talks, but meeting at Wacha meeting point on LAC in Eastern Sector of Arunachal Pradesh on September 6-7, 2026 to ease tension on the eastern border makes it relevant in context of India's serious approach to upkeep peace and it's territory intact.

As there is preceptible cautious thaw in India and China relationship, it is pertinent for India to remain focused on dual track approach of maintaining military preparedness and infrastructure development along the Line of Actual Control, while sustaining diplomatic engagement.

While China is doing all that it takes to stake claim to territory near the Line Of Actual Control, India too should vehemently fast pace it's border development projects, military infrastructure and border programmes.

Besides sagacious political and military brainstorming is desperately needed to fully recover traditional patrolling access to the temporary buffer zones along the LAC in Western Sector of Ladakh and tightly secure the critical friction points in the Eastern sector before the resolution of final boundary issues between India and China.