Since June of this year, India and China have remained deadlocked over control of the disputed Himalayan region of Ladakh. Both countries have sent thousands of troops to man the border, and tensions continue to heighten as military and diplomatic talks fail. The tensions in Ladakh were made worse in 2019 when India stripped part of Kashmir of its autonomous status, a move which China saw as a threat to territorial sovereignty and therefore condemned with Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council. China has vested interest in controlling this specific region of Kashmir, as it contains a glacier feeding one of the world’s largest irrigation systems, which is essential to their “Belt and Road” infrastructure project.
China’s Belt and Road initiative is an expansive, cross continental infrastructure project which aims to increase China’s commercial reach and strengthen its hegemonic presence in Asia. For China, India’s move in unilaterally claiming Jammu and Kashmir ultimately threatened their regional interest and connection to Pakistan as part of the Belt and Road project. Additionally, with the growing alliance between India and the United States, China views India’s move to secure the border as an indirect attack on Chinese power from the United States, worsening that relationship as well. The tensions between the US and China may allow Modi to leverage the situation in a way that will benefit India. Some Indian experts believe that India has much more to gain in terms of stability and prosperity through a strategic alliance with China, rather than against it. As the situation develops, it will be interesting to see how it impacts US-China-India relations overall.