P. K. Balachandran
Recent cartographic changes by China and its decision to dam a river in Tibet have raised the hackles in New Delhi putting recent arrived détente under strain.
Last year, regional rivals India and China reached an agreement on border patrolling, reducing tension in the Eastern Ladakh sector. Prior to that in July, the Indian government’sEconomic Survey said that “to boost Indian manufacturing and plug India into the global supply chain, it is inevitable that India plugs itself into China’s supply chain. Whether we do so by relying solely on imports or partially through Chinese investments is a choice that India has to make.”
The border détente and the idea to allow Chinese investments were interpreted as early signs of a rapprochement between the two countries that were involved in an interminable border dispute and relentless jostling for supremacy in South Asia.
But as 2025 dawned, cracks appeared in the relationship. China decided to form two “Counties” called He’an and Hekang, in the Xinjiang province, parts of which fell in the Indian territory of Ladakh. India conveyed its protest to China about the establishment of these Counties on its territory. For India this was yet another case of China’s cartographic aggression. China had earlier given its own names to various places in the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh which it claims is “Southern Tibet” and, therefore, a part of China.
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