Today's thread on the India-China situation (1/∞)
An explainer on the India-China border from @SushantSin. "The LAC, in contrast, is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map or demarcated on the ground." indianexpress.com/article/explai…
.@ajaishukla's report: "troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continue consolidating their defences in the Galwan River and Pangong Lake areas, up to three kilometres (km) inside territory that the Indian Army has patrolled and claimed for decades."ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2020/06/echoes…
PLA "at the mouth of the Galwan River valley at its confluence with the Shyok River are just 1.5km from the DSDBO road. They overlook the road, which winds along the Shyok River valley, and can bring down artillery and missile fire" ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2020/06/echoes… 
"reserve troops were retained in their peacetime locations because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Consequently, there has been a dire shortage of reserve troops to react to the PLA’s multiple intrusions." ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2020/06/echoes…
"Army headquarters in New Delhi is coming round to the view that top generals in Ladakh have been caught napping. There is growing talk about replacing the corps commander in Leh, and even the northern army commander in Udhampur." ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2020/06/echoes…
News18 says India is sending reinforcements from Kashmir to Ladakh. 'When asked if this was an intelligence and operational failure, a senior officer said, "China stabbed us in the back. In the middle of a pandemic, this was not expected." ...' news18.com/news/india/arm…
ANI: "... the Chinese side is buying time through talks and using it to build up on its side of the LAC. On the other hand, talks at Commanding Officer & Brigade commander level are taking place on almost daily basis but have not shown any result" aninews.in/news/national/…
In an undated video "the Indian soldiers can be seen hitting the windows of the vehicle with rods and stones in an attempt to intimidate the Chinese. The windows of the vehicle clearly appear bullet proof ... One soldier can be seen lying down injured" theprint.in/defence/video-…
Two views on authenticity: @SushantSin says "consensus among people who know" is that the video is accurate. @ananthkrishnan says the pattern of sharing on Weibo suggests a "coordinated leak by the PLA"
This is the video in question, showing a purported clash between Indian and Chinese troops on what looks like Pangong lake.
"Chinese social media handles tweeted an undated image showing five Indian security personnel lying on the ground with their feet tied with the PLA soldiers in the frame. It appears to be a recent photograph as... soldiers can be seen wearing a mask." theprint.in/defence/more-l…
Report by the Press Trust of India, a news agency: "a sizeable number of Chinese Army personnel entered into the Indian side of the de-facto border earlier this month and have been camping in Pangong Tso & Galwan Valley since then" ndtv.com/india-news/ind… Puts it at 2,500 troops
No soldier has been killed on the India-China border since 1975, in part thanks to various agreements mechanisms for defusing stand-offs. These seem to be failing. @nitingokhale asks: "the level of violence is new ... How long before bullets fly?"
The Indian army's response to the video is an almost comically non-denial denial. indiatoday.in/india/story/vi…
DS Hooda, a former commander of India's Northern Command: "There are multiple intrusions, some in areas like Galwan, where there has never been a dispute about the alignment of the LAC." timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/the-inte…
Great reporting by @safwatzgr. '“If this situation continues then our nomads will have to look for other pastures which would be very difficult,” he said. He estimated 1,200-1,500 nomadic families were directly affected by the current stand-off.' scroll.in/article/963432…
"A soldier (possibly a Chinese trooper) is seen lying on the ground, injured. An Indian uniformed man is seen trying to kick him. Another man in uniform and a bullet-proof jacket protects the injured man" tribuneindia.com/news/nation/vi…
"Chinese Twitter handles [tweeted] an image of badly beaten up and bleeding soldiers, who looked from the Indian Army. Some of them were lying on the ground while others seemed unconscious. Their hands and legs were bound with ropes" tribuneindia.com/news/nation/vi…
Global Times weighs in with usual subtlety. "China doesn't want to see situation where politics leads to economic repercussions, so [India] is advised to always view India-China relations with rational minds instead of ... domestic nationalist sentiment." globaltimes.cn/content/119009…
"10-12 Chinese fighter aircraft have been stationed at the PLA Air Force bases in Hotan and Gargunsa ... Chinese fighter aircraft were flying around 30km from Eastern Ladakh, nearly 10km away from the Indian areas as per the international border norms." businesstoday.in/current/econom…
India's defence ministry continues the border work that may have triggered Chinese incursions. "11 special trains to move workers from Jharkhand to Jammu & Chandigarh from where they will be taken to areas close to the China border for building roads" hindustantimes.com/india-news/lab…
If you want a really granular look at the India-China border from the Karakoram pass all the way east to Myanmar, this is your thread:
Very helpful maps of the relevant area by @KesariDhwaj
And another video, this time showing what appears to be encounter between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan valley
Shyam Saran, formerly India's most senior diplomat: "the key issue is whether Chinese troops agree to vacate the area they have occupied by violating the Line of Actual Control ... The bottom line — facts on the ground remain altered to China’s advantage" hindustantimes.com/analysis/as-th…
"another important part of the playbook—incremental advances short of the threshold of a likely military response from adversaries, but resulting over time in a more favourable balance of power. We have seen this at the India-China border over the years." hindustantimes.com/analysis/as-th…
"the ambiguity over the precise alignment of LAC gives [China] the opportunity to trigger incidents at points of choice in order to make both local, tactical gains but to also convey a larger message that it has a stronger hand when dealing with India." hindustantimes.com/analysis/as-th…
