The conflict of 1962 between India and China, centred primarily on the disputed Aksai Chin region along those countries’ borders.

The partition of India (1947), left a set of border disputes in the Indian subcontinent where India, Pakistan, and China converged. The regime in Beijing, after suppressing the buffer state of Tibet in 1950, began disputing the border with India at several points between the Himalayan states of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim.

The Chinese tried to connect Tibet with Xinjiang by building a military road through the Aksai Chin region. India objected to the Chinese presence in the sector, which it claimed as part of the Ladakh region under Indian administration.

After a number of border skirmishes between 1959 and 1962, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China forcefully attacked across the disputed boundaries on October 20, 1962. Indian forces were soundly defeated, 7,000 men having been killed or captured, and the lowlands of Assam lay open to the invaders.

China announced a unilateral ceasefire on November 20 and soon afterward withdrew from most of the invaded area. It retained control of about 38,000 square km of territory in Aksai Chin, and the area remained a point of contention between the two countries.

The Sequence of Events leading up to the War

When the Chinese People’s Republic came into being on 1st October, 1949, India was among the first and very few countries to recognise it. In Nehru’s worldview, these two Asian giants could together start a new Asian era. Indeed, at that time, no differences existed between the two countries, which could lead to hostility.

However, that did not take into account the devious and complex Chinese mind, which even at that early stage had rationalised that only one of the two countries could be an Asian power. It was China’s goal to see that India remained confined to South Asia.

The first sign of discord between India and China came in 1950 when China invaded Tibet. This was blatant aggression as historically, Tibet has never been a part of China. The Tibetans looked up to India for help but India’s feeble protest merely antagonised the Chinese without helping the Tibetans.

India now had to contend with China on its Northern and Eastern border. Though not demarcated, these borders were well defined by various treaties and usage right from seventeenth century. Opportunities to negotiate a border settlement in the fifties existed, but were not seized.

India entered into the Panchsheel Agreement with China in 1954, hoping to put an end to Chinese provocations but that was not to be. On the contrary, China illegally occupied the Aksai Chin and completed construction of their Western Highway through it in 1957.

To counter continued Chinese aggression, India embarked on a policy of establishing a series of small posts all along its Northern and Eastern borders with China, to prevent further incursions. Called the ‘Forward policy’, most posts were not capable of giving a fight to the Chinese and were logistically unsustainable. Coupled with this, India neglected the improvement of infrastructure in the border areas, which was to cost the country dear when the conflict started in 1962.

Around 1959-60, the Army was ill prepared to fight a war with China, but the army leadership still went along with the disastrous Forward Policy. By now the Chinese had made up their mind that since India was not negotiating the border issue to their satisfaction, which was basically bartering the Aksai Chin in Ladakh for Chinese acceptance of the McMahon Line in Arunachal Pradesh, they would “teach India a lesson”.

On 20 October, 1962, they overwhelmed 7 infantry Brigade deployed on Namka Chu River in Western Arunachal Pradesh and launched massive offensives both in Ladakh as well as Arunachal Pradesh.

After gaining their initial objectives, the Chinese took a tactical and logistic pause for three weeks before renewing their offensives. On achieving their objectives, they announced a dramatic unilateral ceasefire on 20 Nov 1962 completing India’s humiliation.

The Lessons of 1962 War

Defence preparedness is mandatory if a nation aspires to be a world power. Without military power, diplomacy will have no teeth as is the case with India today.

Armed Forces have to be an integral part of a nation’s foreign policy. Unfortunately we have failed to learn this lesson and continue to keep the Armed Forces away from the decision making loop.

War fighting is not only about weapons and ammunition. The crucial thing is infrastructure. If we are not able to put our forces swiftly into areas on the border where they are required to fight, we will lose the war in the beginning itself. This lesson has not been learned. Successive governments have done little on this account as a result of which, even after sixty years our infrastructure in border areas continues to be poor.

While the Chinese have made giant strides in the modernisation of their armed forces and their strategic capability, we are lagging behind in this respect.

During the 1962 war, India was left isolated. Barring Western countries like USA and UK, none came to India’s aid, though India considered herself as the leader of the Non-aligned Movement. The need therefore is to build strong alliances.

The Border Question and the Way Ahead

The India China War of 1962 erupted due to the different perceptions of the border. This issue has defied any solution for the past six decades primarily because China uses this as a pressure point to keep India unbalanced. It has also developed its strategy of India’s encirclement by reducing India’s influence in the region. We must however, not make the mistake of solving the border issue on China’s terms. The issue can keep hanging fire for as long as it takes but it must not hinder our economic development.

Meanwhile, we need to proceed with our military modernisation and improvement of infrastructure in border areas, which has sadly been neglected for the last half a century. We must also continue our economic engagement with China and correct the trade imbalance.

India and China are two growing Asian powers and hence a clash of interests is inevitable. The key is to keep it manageable and not allow it to flare up into another border war. It will be tough test for our diplomacy.

Must read: How was the controversial McMahon Line responsible for the Indo-China War of 1962?

External link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War