CHINA SECURITY: China May Have Accidentally Drawn India Into Maritime Disputes

A member of the Indian Navy band adjusts his cap in New Delhi on March 4. Japan and Vietnam are asking India to help counter Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images

China may have just shot itself in the foot with its efforts to seize new territory. Its recent actions may draw India into the conflict, which could act as an essential piece to sway the situation against China’s interests.

Chinese troops have reportedly been seen at forward outposts along the Line of Control, along the Pakistani side of Kashmir—and this has sounded alarms in India.

Strategically, the timing couldn’t have been worse. This happened right as India’s leaders are considering whether to join the dispute against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Soldiers from China’s People’s Liberation Army have been making “frequent incursions in Ladakh” in the Himalayas, and Chinese troops may be building infrastructure along the Line of Control, reported The Times of India on March 13.

Chinese troops are also digging tunnels in Leepa Valley in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as part of its China–Pakistan Economic Corridor that will build a highway from China to Pakistan, and pass under the Karakoram Highway, which India says is being illegally occupied by China.

The Chinese efforts are causing a stir in India, just as India is considering offers from Japan and Vietnam to collaborate on efforts to counter China’s takeover of the South China Sea.

We shall continue to cooperate with other countries including India to exploit resources within our 200-nautical-mile EEZ.

— Ton Sinh Thanh, Vietnam ambassador to India