High-Altitude Tunnel Escalates India-China Border Tensions
A tunnel built in the high mountains of northeastern India has emerged as the latest focal point in an ongoing border dispute between New Delhi and Beijing.
The recently inaugurated Sela Tunnel by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been celebrated as an engineering marvel in India. Carved through the Himalayas at an altitude of approximately 13,000 feet (3,900 meters), it’s seen as a significant asset for the military, providing swift and reliable access to the tense de facto border with China.
This has drawn the interest of Beijing, as their enduring dispute with New Delhi over the contested 2,100-mile (3,379-kilometer) border has led to clashes between the two nuclear-armed nations in recent times.
This includes the events of 2020, during which hand-to-hand combat between the two parties led to the loss of lives, with at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers perishing in Aksai Chin-Ladakh, situated in the western region of the border.
Decades ago, the disagreement escalated into a war.
China asserts ownership over the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, where the tunnel was built, despite the region having been under Indian control for an extended period.
In recent days, Chinese officials have criticized the tunnel project and Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the state, alleging that New Delhi is taking actions to destabilize peace along the border.
Indian authorities should halt any actions that could exacerbate the boundary issue… The Chinese military maintains a high level of vigilance and will firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” stated a spokesperson from the Defense Ministry last week, referring to Arunachal Pradesh by its Chinese name “Zangnan” or South Tibet
On Tuesday, India responded strongly, dismissing Beijing’s “baseless assertions” and affirming that the region “remains and will continue to be an integral and inseparable part of India.”
During a news conference on Wednesday, the US State Department expressed support for India’s sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh and strongly opposed “any unilateral efforts to assert territorial claims through incursions or intrusions” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border.
In response, Beijing criticized Washington, alleging that it was making deliberate attempts to aggravate and exploit conflicts in other nations to further its own selfish geopolitical agenda.
The conflict, emphasizing the profound tensions in the relationship between Asia’s two largest nations, occurs as India approaches national elections, widely anticipated to affirm support for Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda.
Under Modi’s leadership, there has been a surge in nationalism in India, mirroring a similar trend in China under leader Xi Jinping, who has implemented a more assertive foreign policy. Despite this, both sides have seemingly made efforts to de-escalate border tensions following the deadly clash in 2020.
On Friday, Modi traveled to Bhutan to strengthen the India-Bhutan partnership. The remote Himalayan country shares a border with Arunachal Pradesh and also has a disputed border with China. New Delhi is cautious about potential negotiations between Bhutan and China over this dispute.
Entrenched dispute
During his visit to Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month, Modi hailed the Sela Tunnel as an “engineering marvel” and highlighted various other development projects, particularly those concerning border infrastructure.
These initiatives form a significant effort by his administration to develop Indian territory along the disputed border. This shift in strategy, closely monitored by Beijing, contrasts with India’s previous stance, which believed that leaving the rugged terrain undeveloped would act as a deterrent against potential invasion or encroachment by China.
Of 118 projects launched by India’s Border Roads Organization last year to build infrastructure like roads, bridges and airfields, more than half were in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, along the disputed border with China.
Beijing has criticized India for “complicating the boundary issue and disturbing the situation in the border regions between the two nations” through such development efforts.
Observers note that India is rectifying an imbalance caused by decades of extensive Chinese road and infrastructure construction, which had given Beijing a considerable advantage over New Delhi in deploying troops to border regions. China has also built hundreds of “xiaokang,” or villages, in these areas, which it denies are intended to reinforce its territorial claims.
“Now that India acknowledges the advantages of border infrastructure, it is speeding up its construction efforts to close the gap with China. However, this is also expected to escalate tensions with China and prompt Beijing to intensify its own construction projects,” stated Byron Chong, a research associate at the Center on Asia and Globalization at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
The Sela Tunnel, connecting Assam to Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang, has drawn particular interest from Beijing due to the area’s sensitivity along the Line of Actual Control. New Delhi has emphasized that the project will enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces.
In late 2022, Tawang witnessed a non-lethal altercation between the two sides, as per Indian authorities. At that time, New Delhi alleged that troops from China’s People’s Liberation Army sought to “unilaterally” alter the status quo by attempting to cross the Line of Actual Control.
Tawang holds special importance for Beijing due to its significance in Tibetan Buddhism and China’s concerns about the succession of the Dalai Lama, according to Manoj Kewalramani, head of Indo-Pacific studies at the Takshashila Institution research center in Bangalore.
Since a failed uprising against Chinese rule of Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama, aged 88, has lived in exile in India. Beijing has tightened control over Tibetan Buddhism and suppressed religious practices in Tibet.
“Much of the current pressure on Arunachal Pradesh stems from the anticipation of how India will react to certain events and the potential consequences according to China’s desires,” he explained.
Despite the border buildup and China’s efforts to solidify its territorial claims in maps and official language, both sides have made diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions following the deadly 2020 clash.
During a meeting at the BRICS summit in South Africa last August, Modi and Xi agreed to “work harder” to reduce tensions.
The Indian and Chinese militaries have also maintained their border talks, with the latest occurring last month, where they reaffirmed their commitment to “keep peace and calm.”
