India-China Faceoff: Tulung LA to Galwan clashes; times when China crossed line
Twenty Indian Army bravehearts, including a Colonel of 16 Bihar Regiment, were killed in the clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff between India and China.
The Army initially said on Tuesday that an officer and two soldiers were killed. But in a late evening statement, it revised the figure to 20 saying 17 others who "were critically injured in the line of duty and exposed to sub-zero temperatures at the standoff location succumbed to their injuries." The news was met with wide anti-China protest in India. People in Ahmedabad, Varanasi and several Indian cities came out on streets to protest China's cowardly act at the LAC.
But this clearly is not the first time China has broken the agreement reached at the border. There have been standoffs between the Indian Army and China's PLA at nearly 3,488 km-long India-China border that stretches from the Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India.
India-China faceoffs: Times when China crossed the red line
Tulung La - 1975
4 Assam Riffles jawans were killed when their patrol was ambushed by Chinese soldiers at Tulung La in Arunchal Pradesh on October 20, 1975.
Officially, India claimed on 20 October 1975, Chinese forces had crossed over into Indian territory in south of Tulung La, and ambushed Assam Rifles jawans. The Chinese troops also fired at them, resulting in death of 4 Indian soldiers.
Sumdorong Chu 1986-87
Sumdorong Chu incident in 1987 is biggest face-off after 1962 war in north of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh between. It is one such stand-off between the Indian Army and Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA) where India-China came close to a war. Army chief General k Sundarji airlifted a large number of troops to Sino-Indian border under 'Operation Falcon' to Zimithang to counter China's aggressive moves. These forces occupied the Hathung La, across the Namka Chu from Thag La.
In May 1987, the then Indian Minister of External Affairs, N.D. Tiwari went to Beijing en route to Pyongyang, North Korea. In order to de-escalate the tension, Tiwari gave a clear message that New Delhi had no intention of aggravating the situation. As a result, the first formal flag meeting to discuss 'the freezing of the situation' since 1962, took place on the 5th of August, 1987 at Bum La in the aftermath of the Wangdung affair. Both countries also decided to resume bilateral talks to solve border disputes.
Depsang 2013
A 21-day face-off saw two armies pitching tents and indulging in banner drills after PLA troops intruded 19 km into India territory in Depsang Bulge area of the DBO sector in Ladakh.
On 15 April 2013, a platoon of 50 Chinese troops established an encampment of four tents 30 km southeast of Daulat Beg Oldi at about 16,300 feet in elevation in the Raki Nala valley. The Indian military followed a policy of restraint, attempting to keep the issue "localized" and "tactical", in order to give the Indian government the opportunity to resolve the issue through diplomacy. The military and diplomatic tensions was resolved after hectic round of negotiations following which the Chinese troops withdrew.
In 2014, Chinese army admitted 2013 incursion at Depsang Valley for 1st time and said such incidents occurred due to different perception about the Line of Actual Control.
Doklam 2017
A 73-day confrontation on Bhutanese territory of Doklam near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction after Indian soldiers blocked Chinese troops from extending a road. Doklam is surrounded by the Chumbi Valley of Tibet, Bhutan’s Ha Valley and Sikkim.
The 2017 China India border standoff or Doklam standoff refers to the military border standoff between the Indian Armed Forces and the People's Liberation Army of China over Chinese construction of a road in Doklam near a trijunction border area, known as Donglang, or Donglang Caochang in Chinese. Indian soldiers blocked Chinese troops from extending an existing road southward in Doklam. It was a 73-day confrontation on Bhutanese territory of Doklam near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction.
