As tensions between India and China over border issues continue, the Indian Navy sailed out its frontline warship for deployment in the South China Sea as China earlier raised objections over the move amid the commander level talks between the two sides.
According to a report by a Delhi based news agency ANI, the Chinese have been objecting to the presence of Indian Navy ships in the region where it has significantly expanded its presence since 2009 through artificial islands and military presence.
“Soon after the Galwan clash broke out in which 20 of our soldiers were killed, the Indian Navy deployed one of its frontline warship to the South China Sea where the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy objects to the presence of any other force claiming the majority of the waters as part of its territory,” the report quoted government sources as having said.
The sources, according to the report, added that as China earlier complained to India about the Indian warship’s presence at South China Sea amid the diplomatic level talks between the two countries, the immediate deployment of the Indian Navy warship had a desired effect on the Chinese Navy and security establishment.
The sources further informed that during the deployment in the South China Sea, where the American Navy had also deployed its destroyers and frigates, the Indian warship was continuously maintaining contact with their American counterparts over secure communication systems.
As part of the routine drills, the Indian warship was being constantly updated about the status of the movement of military vessels of other countries there, they said adding that the entire mission was carried out in a very hush-hush manner to avoid any public glare on Navy’s activities, the report mentioned.
As New Delhi claims that both India and China will “continue to sincerely work towards complete disengagement” of armed forces personnel, talks aimed at resolving the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, has so far yielded no results.
The armies of India and China are locked in a tense standoff in eastern Ladakh, where China has reportedly occupied 60 sq. kilometres of territory claimed by India.
A Chinese diplomat reacting to the standoff in Ladakh has said that the move is linked to the Indian government’s unilateral decision to scrap Article 370 in August last year.
The move changed the laws that prohibited Indians from buying land in Kashmir, and made the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir defunct, triggering fears of demographic change in the Muslim majority region of Kashmir.
When India scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5 last year, the Chinese foreign ministry had issued two statements criticising the development, including one that focused on the splitting of the state into union territories.
This statement, while urging India to be “cautious” on the border issue and to avoid “actions that further complicate the border issue”, said: “China has always opposed India’s inclusion of Chinese territory in India’s administrative jurisdiction in the western part of the Sino-Indian border.” This was a reference to the area in Ladakh that New Delhi claims but is controlled by Beijing.
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