BDCA – Another Self Inflicted Wound
By Lt Gen Prakash KatochIssue | Date : 23 Oct , 2013
The brouhaha about India having signed the BDCA agreement with China actually is a self-inflicted wound though providing satisfaction to Prime Minister Manhohan Singh that he too inked a border agreement with China, after the Agreement between the two countries on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility Along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas signed on 7th September 1993, another Agreement on Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas, the Protocol on Modalities for the Implementation of Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in India-China Border Areas signed on 11th April 2005 and the Agreement on Establishment of a Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs signed on 17th January 2012.
A close analysis of the BDCA actually indicates, it is yet another nail in the coffin of India’s territorial integrity master-crafted by China and acquiesced by our Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and the National Security Advisor. It was amusing to see the spin masters bill-boarding media headlines “India talks Tough” even as Manmohan Singh was enroute to Russia, declaring India will continue building border infrastructure. Forget China blatantly violating earlier agreements, the nuances of this BDCA agreement will tie India in knots.
Article I of the Agreement says the two sides shall carry out border defence cooperation on the basis of their respective laws and relevant bilateral agreements. So has China respected the earlier agreements and why should it do so now? Then which laws are we talking about – Constitution, PMO, IPC, NSA’s to not face up to any intrusion or the Foreign Minister’s law that a 30 kms deep intrusion is to be treated as acne on his face? Which then are the laws of China – that they can walk into Chumar any time and threaten the locals at will?
Article II of the BDCA Agreement requires exchanging information-including information about military exercises, aircrafts, demolition operations and unmarked mines etc without laying down any distances from the LAC. The LAC itself has different perceptions and China has not given any maps of her perception of the LAC. She would not like to either as not doing so facilitates expanding claims, example being claim to Tawang expanded to entire Arunachal Pradesh. So what does the wording of Article II imply?
That India should inform China every time you want to land an aircraft at DBO, do an exercise (up to what depth and from whose perception of LAC?), inform China we are doing blasting (using demolitions) to construct / improve a road – so much so for “India Talks Tough on border infrastructure”! Has the smuggling of wild life articles been thrown in for humour knowing Chinese are obsessed with the Tiger’s teeth, bones, nails, testicles and what have you and the rhino horn as well? Do you expect China to stop such smuggling activity? But, what about the mafia at our end? Are you really going to stop the flooding of Indian markets by Chinese contraband particularly in the northeast knowing full well who constitutes the mafia and whose protection they have?
The cake of course goes to Article VI whose wordings say, “The two sides agree that they shall not follow or tail patrols of the other side in areas where there is no common understanding of the line of actual control in the India-China border areas. Doesn’t this effectively cover intrusions like that have happened in Depsang this summer. The PLA can sit in the intruded areas as long as they want to and construct defences like they did in Srijap earlier. There will be no opposition. This time the Indian public has no cause to get agitated because our wise men (read mice) men have signed this agreement in 1962 fashion good faith that we shall just ignore any Chinese patrol. Hey, but how come we are ignoring Chinese strategic calculations. Since they claim Arunachal as ‘south Tibet’ what stops them sending patrols all the way to Tezpur? Perhaps the Foreign Minister will then make an exception, take notice and host a meal for the Chinamen, this being their private visit.
As regards Article VII that in case a doubtful situation with reference to any activity by either side in border areas where there is no common understanding of the line of actual control, either side has the right to seek a clarification from the other side, do we really need to get a clarification from China? After all that India has gone through, might as well accept the standard response that they have not crossed the LAC and Chinese patrols are very much in their own area. Again, Article IX says that the two sides shall implement this Agreement without prejudice to their respective positions on the alignment of the line of actual control as well as on the boundary question. Which alignment of the LAC are we talking about? Does it include the hundreds of square kilometers of territory that we have quietly ceded to China over the years, over and above Aksai Chin and Shaksgam? Does this include the over 400 square kms of territory ceded in Ladakh alone as has been revealed by Ambassador P Stopden? Does the government have any answer to disclosures by Mr RN Ravi, former Special Director, IB in the Assam Tribune that since 2009 Government of India, for reasons best known to it, has been misleading its own citizens about it territory ceded to China:
* By denying the reports of Chinese transgressions along the border, India is only helping the cause of the Chinese.
* India has stopped patrolling by the security forces to the India-China-Myanmar tri-juncture to avoid confrontation with the Chinese and by doing so, India has already lost hold over a substantial portion of land.
* China is trying to stake claim over the Tatu Bowl, the place where the Dicho river, which originates in Myanmar, meets the Lohit river, by sending out patrol parties well inside India.
* China has already started constructing a new road along the Dicho river and if the Chinese plan succeeds, the tri-juncture would come down to eight kms south of the original point.
* Earlier, the Indian Army patrols used to go along the Dicho river to the tri-juncture, but the Government of India stopped such patrols to avoid any confrontation.
* If the Chinese manage to take over the Tatu Bowl area, they would be able to come to the plains within a short time.
* In 2009, the Chinese asked the militants of the North East to come to a common platform to receive help from that country, following which, the chief of the NSCN (K), SS Khaplang has virtually turned the Taga area into a common headquarter of the major militant groups of the region.
* As Xinjiang area is close to the Karakoram range, China started coming well inside Indian territory and in recent times, China came 20 to 30 kilometers inside India in that area; there is every possibility of the Chinese cutting off the supply lines from Leh to the Karakoram pass.
The above needs to be viewed in conjunction what China has been doing in eastern Ladakh including intrusions in Depsang, Chumar, constructed a 10 kms road in Pangong Tso area etc. There is little doubt left that India has stopped patrolling the Karakoranm Pass for there is no squeak from the government or the venerable Home Minister. The Defnce Minister appears to have no role left in the contentious areas like Ladakh at least.
The emphasis on recognizing the importance of materializing the spirit of the earlier agreements for maintaining peace and tranquility is a joke considering the ease with which China has desecrated them on numerous occasions. The fact of the matter is that as expected Li Keqiang has dealt Manmohan Singh a googly (in connivance our Foreign Minister and NSA) and the Manmohan has swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Even veteran diplomats are shaking their heads in disbelief – another massive foreign policy failure that will go down in black letters to the credit of this government.
How soon China will kick them again is a matter of conjecture. We can then perhaps start thinking about a future BDSCEPT (Border Defence Strategic Cooperation for Enhanced Peace and Tranquility) Agreement. A deeper analysis of the BDCA Agreement in backdrop of disclosures by former Ambassador P Stopden and Mr RN Ravi, former Special Director IB would indicate, it is no less than treason. What we needed was a discussion on why China did not respect the earlier agreements and protocols.
BDCA
Of course going rogue is an open option. But I believe Chinese Diplomats can think better than you.
