Recently with reports of a second bridge under construction by China on the Pangong Lake[1] with Beijing hardening its position along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and almost after two years since the deadly brawl between India and China at Galwan, India continues to face unprecedented challenges to its national security and strategy apparatus to deal with an aggressive and an unprovoked China.
China Bloodies Bulletless Borders by Colonel Anil Bhat, VSM (Retd) is a fascinating account of the longstanding Indo-China border disputes, contextualising them within the current developments along the border, while unfolding the challenges India’s security and military face due to China’s expansive geopolitical ambition. As the title suggests, the author navigates through the complexities of managing the “bulletless border management” border for almost 50 years until the very unfortunate incident at Galwan in June 2020.
Divided into seven broad headings, the book comprehensively analyses the military and strategic aspects of the border disputes between the two Himalayan giants, intertwined with a thoughtful examination of the historical backdrop of major conflicts and skirmishes between The Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army.
The book begins by highlighting how fundamentally flawed the perception was of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and its second defence minister, V.K. Krishna Menon on the role of the Army in a newly independent country. The author notes that “post-independence, PM Nehru conveyed that the nation did not need an army and police forces were sufficient. This may be due to the cultural gap existing as the Army had fought as part of the British forces in World War II and was viewed with suspicion.”
Downplaying the role of the army, and being idealistic in his ambitions on foreign policy and defence-related matters, former Prime Minister Nehru completely misread and misunderstood China, which culminated in the humiliating defeat of 1962.
One aspect of the book that stands out is the personal interview of Brigadier MMS Bakshi, MVC, the then Brigade Commander at Nathula, who provides valuable inputs. As the Chinese position escalated along the border, Brigadier Bakshi requested for an appropriate response with artillery and the retaliation, which resulted in about 400 Chinese troops being killed and many bunkers and vehicles being destroyed, is an account worth reading.
Initiating a very interesting word-play with a chapter titled “2007-2017: Intrusions Galore and Dra’goon’ Diplomacy” the author deliberately highlights the dangers of Chinese-led economic initiatives on India’s strategies and aspirations. Passing through Pakistan Occupied Territory of Gilgit-Baltistan, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is arguably the biggest military and strategic challenge for India. Assessing China’s foreign policy tools would make one realise that Beijing is rapidly building a network of military partnerships and the Belt and Road Initiative is the strategy for China’s establishment as a global power.
Commenting on the Doklam incident, the author makes it clear that it should not be seen as an isolated event. He remarks it as a ‘lynchpin of the multi-pronged contest’ China has attempted to launch against India. The events that follow tell readers how the Doklam standoff showed the veiled vulnerabilities between the two Asian giants, while the incident at Galwan showed what the future of Asia holds, which even informal summits at Wuhan and Mamallappuram could have not predicted.
The author puts forth a very interesting case for China’s biowarfare capability having engineered the outbreak of the COVID virus, followed by planning an attack at Galwan, when India was in the midst of an immediate crisis of COVID-19. While the author’s concerns about tracing the origin of the COVID-19 virus are valid, attributing it entirely to the creation of a Chinese biowarfare strategy and calling it the “Chinese Virus or CCP Virus” lacks strong scientific evidence. There has been no definite evidence to substantiate this hypothesis. World Health Organization (WHO) is continuing its research on the origins and is open to investigating further but the possibility that the virus escaped from a laboratory is highly unlikely.[2] Though there is a fair share of criticisms of the study being influenced by China’s vetoing and lacking transparency and independence, countries should take this as an opportunity to call for reforms and transparency in the WHO. India and China are not dealing with the pandemic in isolation, calling it the CCP or the Chinese Virus is extremely problematic in diplomatic channels, given that China was supportive of India and South Africa’s proposal for a temporary waiver of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for coronavirus vaccines, [3]at a time when the West started hoarding vaccines.
Towards the end of the book, details of the events of late August 2020, when the Indian Army’s swiftly occupied commanding heights of the Kailash Range are noted. The author provides recommendations to New Delhi to revaluate its policies and decisions and work towards a synthesis of Intelligence agencies and the Army on security matters, for efficient and effective border management. The lack of consensus on Indian national security and foreign policy objectives may give China the leverage to dictate the terms of ties with India.
However, in February of 2022, India and China mutually agreed to withdraw from the Kailash Range and China’s occupation of the ‘fingers’ area on Pangong Tso, signalling a shift in de-escalating a crisis. India must shed what the author calls the: “hangover of Nehruvian tendencies” in decision-making, since being an idealist will come at a cost for India.
The book is a cautious reminder of how LAC will continue to be a contested issue between the two countries. As the book traces geopolitical actions, maps and illustrations would have enhanced the research of the author and would have made the book more useful to the readers, who may otherwise have a hard time placing the strategic campaigns into the picture. Overall, China Bloodies Bulletless Borders is a very interesting and factual book for those who want to strategically understand historical advances in Indo-China border disputes. The book is a good start and an easy read for new readers who want to dive into the broader aspect of India’s military and security challenges.
Endnotes
[1] https://www.mea.gov.in/response-to-queries.htm?dtl/35333/Official_Spokespersons_response_to_media_queries_regarding_reports_of_a_second_bridge_being_constructed_across_Pangong_Lake_by_China
[2] https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2021-03-31/what-who-investigation-reveals-about-origins-covid-19
[3] https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-supports-trips-waiver-on-covid-19-vaccines-proposed-by-india-south-africa/
