It could be argued that the Chinese are also setting the pace to a large extent on the resolution of ongoing tensions at the LAC. Image source: The Indian Express

‘Connect the Dots’, The Indian Express, 14 December 2022. p.10. Published online, ‘Flare-up at Tawang marks shortcomings of India’s China diplomacy’, 13 December 2022

There has been yet another transgression by Chinese troops across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China. That it culminated in violence, that it took place this time in the Eastern Sector of their boundary dispute, or that it should take place in the middle of winter should surprise no one. If there is one lesson that can be drawn from India’s experiences with Chinese transgressions over the last decade or so, it is that the Chinese seem to set the pace on the nature and timing of these transgressions.

In 2013, at Depsang in Ladakh, Chinese troops came across the LAC, pitched tents and refused to move for several weeks until New Delhi threatened to cancel the planned visit of Premier Li Keqiang to India. This might have been a diplomatic victory for the Indian government but it also highlighted the inability of the Indian military to bring an end to the standoff or the unwillingness of the government to let the military take the lead in responding.

For more, Visit https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/flare-up-at-tawang-marks-shortcomings-of-india-china-diplomacy-8322922/