Geographical rifts - The China-Nepal-India territory

India as a landlocked country in the north, shares its borders with seven other countries with each country posing as a different type of political and geographical problem to the country. The current news of the Indo-Sino border issues ensued a large flair among the Indian Population with Indians seeking to #boycottchina, apps were specifically created in this context and many others. The Indian war with China and Pakistan has been one of long imminence and long-standing. However, the outrage against China stems from the notification of the Nepal Government regarding the Himalayan border and its geographical position in India or Nepal.

Background

The India-China border problem dates back to the 1962 war. The lack of a clearly demarcated boundary between the two countries continues despite countless rounds of talks. The controversy began at the helm of the government of India announcing the inauguration of an 80km ling road that is set to pass the LipuLekh, which is a disputed land at the three-way junction of India, Nepal and China on May 8th. The unilaterally built motorway links India's Uttarakhand State to Tibet's Kailash Man Sarovar via the LipuLekh Pass, a territory historically claimed by Nepal and considered one of the shortest and most practicable trade routes between India and China.

The small Himalayan nation challenged India's inauguration of the road, viewing the move as another example of bullying by its much larger neighbour. It is believed that with this roadway, India has moved its frontier China, and has gained a direct access into the Purang Highway in Tibet, which changes the status quo in the region with India not needing direct access of China. China is therefore now to believe that using Nepal, India has gained a dominant position in the region with a geographical advantage.

The Nepal Issue

The Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli in response issued a new map that showed that the disputed areas are included in the Nepal map in accordance to the 1816 Surgali treaty with the British Raj.The treaty recognized the Kali River as Nepal’s western boundary with India and the land lying east of the river is Nepalese territory. People living in Kalapani, LipuLekh and Limpiyadhura had cast votes during Nepal's 1959 general election and been paying taxes before the conflict erupted. India then fought a war with China in 1962, and these areas have remained in control of Indian troops since.

The Prime Minister has stated that the areas belong in Nepal and vowed to reclaim the same through political and diplomatic efforts. Though many believe that this has been done at the behest of the Chinese government in an attempt to reclaim the status quo, the same relationship has not been verified. This allegation has been in light of the increased economic activities in the Nepal-Sino frontier. But the Indian side remains clear that these changes to the map are not found on any historic basis as per the Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Mr. Anurag Srivastava.

China’s Intervention

On May 9th, one day after the issuance of the map there was a clash of the soldiers on the Indo-Sino Border near Pangong Tso in the eastern area of Ladakh. Further, in the Galwan valley of Ladakh, the Indian Patrol was stopped by Chinese soldiers. With this, it has been alleged that China wants to paint India as the aggressor of the Act. The Chinese forces are moving into the border areas into Indian Territory along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

It is believed that Nepal, keeping aside the long standing war with China has started to launch a diplomatic attack on India as a painted oppressor and therefore, the issuance of the map and the movement of the Chinese soldiers aggression  into the Indian territory in the same time as the inauguration of the roadway has not been considered a mere coincident. It was stated as a well-planned attack on the geography of India, so that China can assert dominance over the sub-continent much like the ruling sentiment of China being bold and tough, Economic Times wrote.

The Politics

Since the Chinese government is in the middle of its annual ‘2 Sessions’ of the CPCC (Chinese People’s Political Consultative Process) and NPC (National People’s Congress), China is on the path to portray itself as strong and outthere. The same was proven with the Hong Kong protest and bill that is being passed. Therefore, the Chinese Government are on the attacking end of things with tackling each thing down with the resources at hand, which India lacks as it fights Corona virus.

After emerging as the victor from both the 2013 and the 2017 face-off with China, India is clearly not in the look out for a conflict, noting that the government has remained the same stated Pratyush  Rao, AD for South Asia at Control Risks consultancy as the economic risk this has in a down playing economy cannot be anticipated. Therefore, in conclusion both the Nepal and Indian counterparts are ready for a diplomatic solution while the Chinese involvement is prominent and still posses a threat that needs to be resolved by the authorities in a timely manner so as to not affect the country in tense times like these. Many people therefore believe that the Indian Government must look at this situation as a combined one and not isolated events and deal with them accordingly.

Other Geographical rifts

Conflicts between states on the basis of territory and geographical resources are not limited to India, though India does possess numerous threats from all the neighbouring countries in this regard. Partition has been an inherent part of the development of societies, with wars, treaties and other political reforms. Therefore, in understanding the Indo-Sino-Nepal Territory issue, here are few of the other prominent ones across the world –

India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir – This has been one of the biggest conflicts that the countries have on an international basis. This conflict dates from the partition in 1947 to the Kargil war of 1999 as well as the Surgical Strike in 2016. Jammu & Kashmir remains the area with the highest tension with communal riots, army interference which also affects the life in the area. With constant interference in the telecommunications, media, freedom of the land has always been at risk. Many attempts at solving this by various institutions remains unsuccessful, making it a dangerous conflict-stricken territory based on geographical relationships shared by the Countries.

Israel and Palestine over the Gaza Strip and West Bank– Both the territories in conflict were a part of the British mandated Palestine after World War I. However, after World War II, there was a strong voice from the Arabs in Palestine for a separate region. In 1947, the new state of Israel was founded with more land than anticipated due to their win in the first Arab – Israeli war. However, even in 1967 other Arab Countries refused to recognise Israel as a State leading to another war where Israel occupied more of Palestine.

However, the Israel occupied lands of Gaza Strip and West Bank were home to many Palestinians due to which Israel started to build settlements in these areas for the Jews. As peace treaties have tried to divide the land, since both the countries still claim these lands, the turmoil still pertains.

North Korea and South Korea over the Peninsula – Until 1945, at the end of World War II, the country was unified. The allies divided the Korean Peninsula into different occupation zones. The Soviet Polices were popular in the North while the middle-classpopulation favouring the US was in the South. Due to this, the UN had to interfere. With this interference, separate governments were established in the North(communist) and the South (anti-communist). In 1950, the Korean War broke further dividing the two countries and led to the signing of an armistice. A 2-mile-wide demilitarized zone was created similar to the LOC between India and Pakistan, with no peace treaty that was signed.

These are only few of the most important conflicts in the world regarding geography as they are numerous ones ranging upto 150. These wars/conflicts only show that if there is no negotiation and formation of a diplomatic relationships, relationships will remain strained between countries affecting politics, economy and the overall welfare of the people of conflicting areas. The current situation in the Indo-Sino border as well as Nepal, as per officials is being solved diplomatically and that is the only way out as territorial conflicts can last ages otherwise which in turn effect the overall well-being of the people and the army.