The conflict between the two superpowers came flared during the first week of May when Indian and Chinese soldiers got caught up in a skirmish and threw stones at each other in the Pangong Tso lake and Naku La areas.
The ‘roof of the world’ border dispute goes back many decades and has resulted in various clashes such as the Nathu La and Cho La military duels in 1967, which lasted only a couple of days, to the more recent Doklam military stand-off in 2017 when China began constructing a road in a disputed area.
This time around, Chinese media reports suggest that Indian troops trespassed on Chinese territory, but India's government said its soldiers stayed on its side. While the tensions between the two countries are nothing new, China’s ascent in the region has led to a new string of military incidents. Indian government data reveals that Chinese troops have transgressed into Indian territory 1025 times between 2016 and 2018. The number of transgressions is likely to have increased further in 2019 and 2020 as China increasingly sees India as a powerful rival in the region.
China- India border map – image source: NewsBharati
For a number of reasons, U.S. President Trump’s offer to mediate in this conflict is unlikely to settle the dispute between the two rising nations.