China’s renewed interest in taking back the control of the Galwan Valley from India apparently has its origin in its recalibrated strategic plan to secure its National Highway 219, which runs through the disputed Aksai Chin region and links its two trouble-spots – Xinjiang and Tibet.
The Galwan Valley has been unaffected by the occasional flashpoints along the disputed India-China boundary for several decades, after a post of the Indian Army in the area was overrun by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in November 1962. The area remained under India’s effective control without any challenge from China for several decades. The lull ended last month, when the Chinese PLA deployed a large number of soldiers in response to what Global Times, a newspaper run by the Communist Party of China, reported as construction of defence facilities by the Indian Army. Read More…
