Ladakh sector’s Galwan Valley and its history in Sino-India relations

Archival documents from 1962 reveal tit-for-tat allegations by India and China on soldiers trespassing in Ladakh sector’s Galwan Valley -- where the most recent standoff took place. The Galwan Valley region, which China claims is part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is part of the 3,488 km long border dispute.

The Chinese government often says the border dispute with India is a legacy of history. The dispute has influenced bilateral ties between New Delhi and Beijing for nearly 70 years despite dozens of rounds of negotiations over the years.

India and China have deployed additional troops , days after scores of Indian and Chinese soldiers were involved in a tense face-off along the India-China boundary.(HT File Photo)

Archival documents from 1962 reveal tit-for-tat allegations by India and China on soldiers trespassing in Ladakh sector’s Galwan Valley -- where the most recent standoff took place. The Galwan Valley region, which China claims is part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is part of the 3,488 km long border dispute.

Through the summer of 1962, barely weeks before the two neighbours fought a war, India and China went back-and-forth on their troops trespassing across the border in the Galwan Valley region.

Several letters were exchanged between the foreign ministries through embassies in New Delhi and Beijing.

The rhetoric flew thick-and-fast and within months both countries were fighting the border war of 1962.

The language in those letters exchanged remain almost identical to official exchanges now.

In a letter from the Chinese foreign ministry handed over to the Indian embassy in Beijing on July 23, 1962, Beijing laid out its allegations.

“According to frontier guards in Sinkiang, (Xinjiang) China, there occurred recently another two serious cases of Indian troops intruding into Chinese territory and firing provocatively at Chinese frontier guards,” excerpts from the letter said.

It continued: “Several dozens of Indian troops intruded recently into Chinese territory south of the Galwan river had reached a place…where they attempted to entrench themselves permanently. At 17:35 hours on July 19, the said Indian troops unwarrantedly fired provocatively at Chinese patrol nearby. The Chinese patrol took no action against the provocation”.

“If the Chinese guards had not remained cool and exercised self-restrain, the above two new cases of provocation would most probably have led to armed clashes. The Chinese Government hereby lodges a serious protest with the Government of India against the two cases,” the letter said.

The Indian government responded swiftly.

In a letter to the Chinese embassy, August 3, 1962, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) rejected the allegations.

“The Government of India has carefully investigated all the three allegations and has found them to be without any basis whatsoever…The GOI notes in this connection that all the three areas referred to by the Chinese government lie well within India territory. It is clear from this that such intrusions as have occurred, have in fact been committed by Chinese forces and not by Indian troops.”

The Indian border defence forces have, despite provocation by Chinese forces throughout shown considerable patience and self-restraint.”

“While rejecting the Chinese note, the Government of India would once again press upon the Chinese Government the urgent necessity of issuing immediate instructions to all Chinese forces to desist from provocative action of any kind and to withdraw from Indian territory”.

The very next day, on August 4, 1962, China shot off another dispatch to India.

“In disregard of the repeated protests of the Chinese government, the Indian side has not only refused to withdraw its troops which have intruded into the Galwan river valley in Sinkiang, China, and menacingly surrounded the Chinese frontier guards there but set up another military strongpoint on Chinese territory south of Galwan river…,” excerpt from the letter said.

India dismissed the allegations on August 8 in a letter to the Chinese embassy. “...There is no truth whatsoever in these allegations. On the contrary whenever an instance of this nature has arisen, it has invariably been due to Chinese forces intruding in Indian territory and shooting at Indian border forces. The Government of India has protested about two such incidents…On both occasions the Indian forces exercises great self-restrain and did not return the Chinese fire,” said part of the letter.

Similar exchanges continued for weeks until the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the legacy of which will continue to shadow ties for a long time to come.