Summary
Highlights
China is constructing the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River (known as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet), aiming to control its water flow. This enables China to potentially disrupt water supply to India or release water suddenly, causing floods in Arunachal Pradesh, further asserting its control over the region and creating humanitarian crises.
Historically, India neglected border infrastructure due to fears of facilitating Chinese advances. However, post-2014 and especially after the 2020 Galwan clash, India has accelerated border infrastructure development, including roads, bridges, and railways, to enable rapid troop deployment. India is also focusing on strengthening border villages by improving living conditions to encourage settlement, turning residents into the first line of defense against encroachments. Additionally, India needs to leverage international alliances like the Quad (USA, Japan, Australia) and highlight Tibetan and Taiwanese issues to counter China. Ultimately, strengthening India's economy, increasing defense budgets, and investing in research and manufacturing are crucial for a robust long-term strategy against Chinese aggression.
Before 1950, India and China were not direct neighbors; Tibet served as a buffer state. After China's annexation of Tibet in 1950, a shared land border led to ongoing disputes, initially concerning Aksai Chin and now Arunachal Pradesh. China's historical aggression includes building a highway through Aksai Chin in the 1950s, leading to the 1962 war where China gained control of Aksai Chin and briefly occupied Arunachal Pradesh (then NEFA).
Currently, Aksai Chin is under Chinese control, but disputes persist, particularly in the Eastern Sector (Arunachal Pradesh). The McMahon Line, established in 1914 between British India and Tibet, defines the border. China rejects this line, claiming Arunachal Pradesh as 'South Tibet' and a part of its 'Palm and Five Fingers' policy (Aksai Chin, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Arunachal Pradesh).
China employs a 'Salami Slice Strategy,' gradually encroaching on small, uninhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh. They build infrastructure like roads, bridges, and villages, settling Chinese populations and military posts. This incremental annexation avoids large-scale conflict while steadily expanding their territorial control, creating 'facts on the ground' to legitimize future claims in international forums.
Recent news reports suggest Chinese incursions into Arunachal Pradesh, with the construction of roads, bridges, and military camps in areas traditionally used by local tribes. Satellite imagery confirms a Chinese village established approximately two kilometers inside Indian territory. Beyond Arunachal Pradesh, China is strategically encircling India by signing deals like managing the Teesta River with Bangladesh, threatening India's Siliguri Corridor, and acquiring ports like Mongla near Kolkata. China also releases maps showing Arunachal Pradesh as its territory and objects to visits by Indian officials to the state.