Sino-India border tension: When Indian Army gave befitting reply to China

New Delhi: China never shies away from reminding India about the humiliating defeat in the 1962 war. But at the same time, our northern neighbour conveniently forgets the severe mauling its troops received at the hands of Indian soldiers in 1967 in Sikkim and the strategic outmanoeuvering along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh in 1987.

Amidst the ongoing standoff at the Sikkim border, China on numerous occasions has threatened India to "learn a lesson from its defeat in 1962",  but it must also keep in mind that an aggressive India has managed to give it a bloody nose on more than one occasions.

The Nathu La (1967), Cho La conflict (1967) and 1987 Sino-Indian skirmish (1987) are three military conflicts when Indian Army succeeded in giving a befitting reply to Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force.

China has been accusing India of "misleading the public" by claiming that Chinese troops are building a road close to the Chicken's Neck in the Sikkim sector which could endanger India's access to the north- eastern states.

"In disregard of the 1890 Sino-Britain convention, the Indian side said that Doklam is located within the tri- junction of the three countries, that is misleading the public. The 1890 convention said that the Sikkim section of the boundary commences from East Mountain and the incident (of road building) took place about 2,000 meters away from Mount Gipmochi," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Gen Shuang said.

"The Indian side is actually misleading the public by saying that the incident took place at the tri-junction point," Geng said as he defended China's road-building at the Doklam sector which India and Bhutan have objected to.

Nathu La of 1967

It is also known as India-China War of 1967 and it was one the major border skirmish between India and China after the war of 1962. 

The clashes started on 11 September 1967, when China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched an attack on Indian posts at Nathu La, which lasted until 15 September 1967.

As per a report, the end of the conflict resulted in the defeat of Chinese military in the hands of Indian forces. Indian troops drove back the attacking Chinese forces and were able to destroy many Chinese bunkers at Nathu La.

A significant number of casualties is said to have been taken place on both sides though the actual number remains unforeseeable. The competition to control the land in the border region was seen as a major cause of tensions in these incidents. 

It all started from 13 August 1967, when Chinese troops began digging trenches in Nathu La on the Indian side. The Indian troops pointed this out to the local Chinese commander, who was subsequently asked to withdraw its forces from there.

 Later, Indian troops decided to stretch a barbed wire along the ridges of Nathu La in order to indicate the boundary.

Accordingly, from 18 August, wires were stretched along the border, which was resented by the Chinese troops. After two days, armed Chinese troops took positions against the Indian soldiers who were engaged in laying the wire.

Accordingly, in the morning of 11 September 1967,  a heated argument broke out between the Chinese Commissar, who had come to the Indian side and asked Lt Col Rai Singh to stop laying the wire. After Singh refused to flinch, the 'sulking' Chinese Commissar went back to its bunker and reportedly gave the order to its troops to launch fire at the Indian soldier, who was deployed at Nathu La as a shield to protect the engineers engaged in wire laying.

Soon after, a heavy gun fire medium machine gun firing began from the Chinese side against the Indian troops from the north shoulder. 

Due to the lack of cover in the pass, the Indian troops initially found it difficult to find any place to cover and prepare themselves and suffered heavy casualties. 
A little later, Indian troops opened artillery from their side and began targeting the Chinese bunkers.

Due to the advantageous position Indian troops had because of their occupation of high grounds at the pass in Sebu La, they succeeded in having an upper hand on the Chinese soldiers.

The clashes lasted for three days after which the Indian Army delivered a strong message to China that '1962 mistakes won't be repeated'. 

The Cho La conflict of 1967

After getting a humiliating defeat at Nathu La, the Chinese army carried another attack on Indian Army on Cho La on 1st October 1967. To their surprise, the 7/11 GR and 10 JAK RIF stood firm and answered the Chinese firing with double magnitude. 

By October 10th, Chinese had to withdraw nearly three kilometres away from the border to a feature named Kam Barracks where the Chinese Army is deployed till date. Since then Nathu La and Cho La passes have remained under India’s control and China never raised its voice against it.

1987 Sino-Indian skirmish

Sumdorong Chu incident in 1987 in Arunachal Pradesh is one such standoff where India-China came close to a war. But Indian diplomacy mixed with caution and aggression managed not only to avoid war but also brought China to the table to discuss. 

It happened when at the end of 1986, India had granted statehood to Arunachal Pradesh, an area claimed by China. The Chinese government proceeded to protest. 

But the military movements in Tawang, taken in conjunction with this political action were seen as a provocation by the Chinese. In early 1987 Beijing's tone became similar to that of 1962, and with the Indian Army refusing to stand down, Western diplomats predicted a war.

However, External Affairs Minister ND Tiwari's arrival in Beijing in May 1987 helped lowering the tension.

The first formal flag meeting to discuss the freezing of the situation since 1962, was held. Both sides reaffirmed their desire to continue the on-going talks on the border. A few months later, the Indian and Chinese troops withdrew from their positions in the Sumdorong Chu area. 

Finally, in 1993, the two countries signed an agreement to ensure peace along the LAC.