Context:
- It’s been a year since the armed forces of China and India clashed in Galwan.
Background:
- India and China share a 3,440-kilometer-long (2,100-mile-long) border with overlapping territory claims.
- At three sites along the Line of Actual Control in 2020, Indian and Chinese soldiers were embroiled in a tense standoff – the Galwan River Valley, the Hot Springs area, and the Pangong Lake.
- Even while India and China held military-level negotiations and engaged in controlled engagement, a major clash involving army personnel from both sides occurred in the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh.
The strategic significance of the Galwan River Valley (GRV) is as follows:
- The Galwan River is the highest ridgeline, allowing the Chinese to control the Shyok route, which runs along to the river.
- It is located near Aksai Chin, a disputed area claimed by India but controlled by China, on the western side of the LAC.
Why have tensions in this area suddenly risen:
- India is attempting to build a feeder road between Darbuk-Shyok Village with Daulat Beg Odi (DS-DBO road).
- This road follows the Shyok River and is the most important communication link between LAC and the rest of the world.
- As a result, the Chinese were desperate to retain this territory, fearing that the Indian side may use the river valley to threaten their position on the Aksai Chin plateau.
- Source The Hindu
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