India's Supreme Court ruled on December 11 that India's so-called "Ladakh Territory" established in 2019 was legitimate, according to the Observer. However, China's spokesperson Mao Ning pointed out that this is only a unilateral establishment by India, and China has never recognized India's domestic judicial ruling, and stressed that the ruling cannot change the fact that the western section of the China-India border has always belonged to China. The ruling sparked strong opposition from China, but could China take further action when the disputed territory was clawed away by India?
There are three disputed territories in the western sector of the Sino-Indian border, namely the southern Tibet region in the eastern sector, the disputed area in the central sector, and the Aksai Chin region in the western sector. Among them, southern Tibet covers an area of more than 90,000 square kilometers, and the differences between China and India are the most prominent, most of which are actually controlled by the Indian side. The disputed area covers an area of about 2,000 square kilometres and is currently under de facto Indian control. The Aksai Chin region is about 30,000 square kilometers and is under the actual control of the Chinese side.
It is worth noting that the "Ladakh region" is located in the western part of the disputed territory between China and India, between Aksai Chin and Jammu in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and has been Chinese territory since ancient times. However, India is trying to seize the region through a unilateral ruling. The strategic location of this area is very critical, and if China takes it back, this area will be located "overhead" of India, and it will be very close to the Indian capital, New Delhi, which is intolerable;And if India controls the region, it will directly affect China's Xinjiang and ** region, and China will not tolerate it.
India has passed legislation to try to include the "Ladakh region" in its territory, but China has not included it in the latest map published by China. The Chinese side may have been motivated by the fact that it did not want to escalate the situation on the border between China and India, but India did not appreciate it and continued to take action.
It is worth noting that the "Ladakh region" is currently under the actual control of India, and a number of military bases have been established in the surrounding areas. During the standoff in the western sector of China, the military and domestic supplies of the Indian army mainly came from Leh, the capital of the "Ladakh region". When India held the G20 Youth Summit this year, India set up a seat in Leh in an attempt to assert its "sovereignty". However, the Chinese side refused to participate in order to express its ** for India's forcible seizure of Chinese territory.
There have been 20 rounds of talks between China and India at the military commander level. Since the outbreak of the China-India border conflict in June 2020, the two sides have held 20 rounds of military commander-level talks, which have de-escalated the situation and achieved military separation from major confrontation points. However, no substantive results have been achieved in resolving the border issue between the two countries, except for maintaining communication through diplomatic and military channels, resolving the remaining issues on the western border as soon as possible, and jointly maintaining stability on the border.
There may be two main considerations for India's sudden "attack" on the border issue at this point in time. First, as the United States is busy dealing with issues such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it has less energy to meddle in disputed issues in other regions, so India believes that there is less pressure to compete for interests at this time. Second, India has always been seen as a reliable partner of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, and therefore believes that it has the support of the United States even if it takes action on border issues. However, China has always insisted on treating the Sino-Indian border issue as a matter between the two countries and does not allow interference by external forces.
China has verbally responded to India's unilateral ruling and strongly opposes India's provocative acts. However, it remains to be seen whether China will take further action after the disputed territory is "carried out" by India.
To sum up, India's unilateral ruling on the disputed area of the Sino-Indian border has triggered strong opposition from the Chinese side. Although China resolutely defends its territorial sovereignty, it has not achieved substantial results in resolving the border issue. And as India takes more and more actions, confrontation and conflict between the two sides are still possible. Therefore, China needs to continue to maintain a high degree of vigilance and take necessary measures to defend its national interests and territorial integrity. As for future developments, we hope that China and India can find a reasonable and balanced way to resolve disputes through dialogue and compromise to ensure peace and stability in the border areas.