After Doklam , Now Ladakh Face-Offs , India, China Relations Is Cold And Certainly Not Cordial

In 2017 India and China had a two month stand-off at Doklam (16 June 2017 to 28 August 2017) , now the two countries again are at each other’s throat this time in Ladakh . As the country battles the coronavirus and the surge in number of cases , the Modi government has another problem at the border.

This second stand- off with China under Modi government indicates that India – China relations a far  from cordial as the government wants all to believe.

The current face-off is far off from the bonhomie pictures of Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping sitting on a traditional swing on the Sabarmati River front in Ahmedabad during Jinping’s visit to India in September 2014.

Alarmed by the emerging situation Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs with a focus on bolstering India’s military preparedness to deal with external security challenges, government sources said.

The military brass is learnt to have apprised Modi about the evolving situation in eastern Ladakh, though officials maintained that the agenda of the pre-scheduled meeting was to discuss the ambitious military reforms and ways to boost India’s combat prowess.

The meeting came hours after the top four generals briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about the situation in Pangong Tso lake, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldi where the Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in aggressive posturing for the last 20 days.

In the meeting, the top military brass is learnt to have apprised Modi about the implementation of key infrastructure projects along the LAC, the de-facto border with China.