Amid China and India efforts through military contacts to resolve the standoff at the high-altitude Ladakh region, there’s been another messaging going on between the civilian leaders of both countries. According to the assessment of the diplomatic circles in Islamabad, China has linked the reduction in tensions to its commitment to restoring the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir pre-August 5 status.
China Wants The Restoration Of Indian Occupied Jammu And Kashmir’s Pre-August 5 Status
Recall that in August 2019, Prime Minister Modi’s administration officially canceled the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave the territory of Jammu and Kashmir a special status. That also affected the status of Ladakh that Beijing is claiming, causing China to react angrily at that time.
So far, there hasn’t been any official statement from New Delhi and Beijing on the link between Kashmir and the ongoing standoff between China and India in Ladakh. However, a recent article by a Chinese scholar has hinted that China’s border intrusion is because of the Kashmir dispute.
Besides, the deputy director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, Dr. Wang Shida wrote in an article about India’s action of unilaterally changing the pre-August 5 status quo of Kashmir and causing regional tensions.
The article, ‘India blinded by double confidence’ was tweeted by Wang Xianfeng, the spokesman of the Chinese embassy in Islamabad.
Here’s what the tweet by Wang Xianfeng looks like below:
“India’s actions of unilaterally changing the status quo of Kashmir and continuing to exacerbate regional tensions have posed a challenge to the sovereignty of China and Pakistan. That has made the India-Pakistan relations and China-India relations more complex, “
So far, the tweet has created a storm in New Delhi, causing a lot of Indian commentators to tag the move as an extraordinary development.
Sources Claim That China vs India Standoff Links To Modi Government’s Expansionist Policies
Furthermore, there are suggestions by Indian sources that China is purposely increasing the border tensions, to seek the restoration of the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir pre-August 5 status.
Here’s a tweet by a retired Indian army officer and expert on China, Pravin Sawhney:
“China wants both ways… PLA has changed LAC alignment, made DSDBO road to SSN adjacent to Siachen unusable for army reinforcements. China wants Indian commitment from the highest level to restore the J&K state. Indian military cannot do much & the US will not. Modi government’s biggest challenge!”
According to AJK President Sardar Masood Khan, a former Ambassador to Beijing, China has passed a clear message to India, to officially abandon its expansionist policies in Kashmir.
In the past, there were about 18 different sessions at the level of local commanders and 3 sessions at the level of major commanders, between China and India. However, all efforts to resolve the border dispute proved abortive, with China expanding its military footprint in the disputed region.
A few days ago, the senior military commanders of both countries met again, to resolve the ongoing standoff. According to some Indian sources, China and India have both agreed to disengage. However, there hasn’t been any official release so far by the two countries, to support the claims.
