India and China share a unique relationship: overtly both maintain friendly relations and have set for themselves an ambitious goal for trade, yet both have suspicions about each other that come from history. Good thing is that both have recognized their major areas of disagreement – the unmarked boundary called the line of actual control. In recent years though the two countries have in place The NSA-level joint mechanism to resolve this dispute, in the recent years’ tensions have erupted from time to time with both the Armies getting into close physical fights and face-offs. In the past, despite long standoffs, issues have got resolved and both the leaderships have tried to maintain normal relations. Right now what we are seeing in Ladakh is a little more than a skirmish since Chinese seem to have opened a front on multiple points. Obviously our Army has responded in equal measure leading to the standoff on the line of control.
Will this standoff be resolved? If Doklam was resolved after months of India troops not yielding even an inch to the PLA. Interestingly, USA President Donald Trump has offered to mediate between India and China without realizing that his competence is simply not required. Both the countries being neighbours know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and also they have an institutional dialogue mechanism in place. In fact, the silence in Delhi and Beijing to Trump ‘s undiplomatic offer is a clear signal that both are not interested in it. It seems this time China is apparently upset with India laying a network of roads and other infrastructure in Ladakh frontier.
The standoff this time may be a protracted one. The international players would not be able to help either of the two. Only diplomatic talks can deescalate tension and both have to work that out. Already, China’s ambassador to India has said both countries will not ignore their relations