China’s aggression along the LAC reveals strategic myopia on its part, a failure to appreciate where its own long-term interests lie and what attributes justify claims to geopolitical power In a world unsettled by the covid pandemic, it is clearly in the interests of both New Delhi and Beijing to avoid any confrontation along the 3,500-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) that India and China share as a de facto border.
However, two hotspots along the LAC (in Ladakh and Sikkim) threaten to turn into military flashpoints, reviving memories of the 2017 Doklam stand-off.
Indian armed forces are said to be on alert and diplomacy is expected to dial down tensions. Even US President Donald Trump has offered to “mediate or arbitrate" the dispute.