India - People's Republic of China Relations : Updates and Discussions

  • Like
Reactions: Ironhide
Hydra not bowing down to the glorious eagle of USA 5 times a day like you ≠ having favourable view of China. One can dislike both at the same time for different reasons. Perhaps you should change your myopic world view.
You can dislike both, but i don't think hugging chinese is an act of dislike.
 
You can dislike both, but i don't think hugging chinese is an act of dislike.
If you're referring to some “geopolitical gesture” by the GoI, then you need to understand that what you see on camera is not the full picture. Diplomatic signalling is often intentionally misleading on the surface.

Look at the U.S.–China dynamic: Washington publicly talks about “stabilising relations” while simultaneously counter-balancing China through its allies, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, AUKUS, etc. Japan too made noises about “normalising ties” with China right when the U.S. leaned on them with tariff threats. Even Australia gave mixed signals to USA about normalising ties with China. These mixed signals are standard negotiation tactics in geopolitics.

India does the same. Friendly body language between ministers means nothing beyond diplomatic etiquette. Behind the scenes, a whole different game happens. And people here supporting such gestures were not simping for China, they were just being supportive of that particular tactics. Nobody expects China to be truly friendly to us. Perhaps you need to learn that Geopolitics isn't all about joining some camp, singing that camp's theme song everyday around the camp fire, it's more complicated than that. Also assuming that anyone who understands these diplomatic gestures is somehow a “China simp” is just lazy thinking. Being aware of how statecraft works doesn’t mean you support the other side, it means you recognise that geopolitics isn’t driven by a single factor.
 
Last edited:
A couple of developments:

China claims Arunacahal, like Senkaku and Taiwan is a "core interest" of China:



Additionally, China is now escalating trade war with Japan, something China is likely to do with India too:



Is there an opportunity for India/Japan to craft a limited Article5 so that of either "core interest" is attacked, the other will come to aid?
 

For the first time since the 2020 Galwan clash froze patrolling along some of the most sensitive stretches of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Indian and Chinese troops are now patrolling in Depsang and Demchok regularly.

The successful patrols, which were not a regular affair earlier due to standoffs, have increased in the area following the 2024 breakthrough. Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla, Corps Commander of the Indian Army’s 14 Corps, spoke for the first time on this in an exclusive conversation with CNN-News18.

“Since it is unhindered, the number of successful patrols has increased annually," Lt Gen Bhalla said, explaining how the new mechanism has removed the risk of face-offs that marked the pre-2020 period.

After the Galwan clash, Depsang and Demchok had remained the last two unresolved friction points, with the Chinese side calling them “legacy areas". According to Lt Gen Bhalla, the breakthrough came after prolonged military, diplomatic and political negotiations, culminating in a consensus on 21 October 2024.

“I was fortunate to lead the talks that led to the breakthrough," he said. The key Indian gain was the restoration of full patrolling rights in both Depsang and Demchok, exactly as they existed before 2020. “Patrolling is now coordinated."

“When we go, we inform them. When they come, they inform us," the Corps Commander said. This ensures that patrols from both sides do not run into each other, eliminating the chances of standoffs, face-offs or clashes.

Earlier, even though troop numbers and patrol frequencies were broadly fixed, differing perceptions of the claim line meant patrols often confronted each other. Today, Indian troops are “definitely going for our patrolling", but without friction, leading to a visible rise in successful missions on the ground.

Not just patrolling but grazing rights for local herders — suspended after 2020 — have now been fully restored across eastern Ladakh.

“In areas south of the Depsang Plains, towards Changthang, Kangthun and Demchok, the graziers are going right up to their claimed areas for grazing," Lt Gen Bhalla said.

“It took four years, but what we have achieved is better peace and stability."

Three Ds With China

Lt Gen Bhalla also explained the “three Ds" framework guiding LAC talks:
  • Disengagement — moving back and resuming patrolling and grazing
  • De-escalation — pulling back heavy equipment
  • De-induction — reducing troop levels