Former Army Chief Gen Naravane says the Galwan clash proved military force cannot resolve the India-China boundary dispute, emphasizing that diplomatic dialogue and the revival of Special Representative talks are essential moving forward.
Galwan Clash and the Military Solution
Former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd) said that the Galwan clash had clearly demonstrated that, as far as China is concerned, a military solution to the boundary dispute is off the table. “What is important is that post Galwan, it has very clearly demonstrated that as far as China is concerned, a military solution to the boundary question is off the table,” Naravane said while addressing a gathering of IT and banking professionals at an event in Pune.
He said India had held its ground following the Galwan clash and demonstrated that unilateral use of force to alter boundaries or borders would not be acceptable. He added that the developments had given impetus to resolving the long-standing dispute through talks and dialogue. “We have held our ground. We have shown that you cannot this unilateral use of force which I mentioned earlier, that it should be the last option. We clearly demonstrated that unilateral use of force to change boundaries or borders will not be acceptable,” he said.
Defining the Boundary Dispute
Explaining the distinction between an internationally recognised border and a boundary, Naravane said India and China continued to have a long-standing boundary dispute spanning approximately 3,500 km. “I use this term boundary on purpose because, as against a border, an international border which is well demarcated, which is internationally recognised. A boundary is more of a nebulous kind of a thing. It is neither delineated nor demarcated, nor accepted by each other’s countries that this is where the boundary runs,” he said.
He explained that disagreements over the alignment of the boundary were inevitable across such a long stretch, with the two countries having differing perceptions about where the notional line runs. “So obviously in such a large stretch of a boundary, there will be areas where we disagree on even when this notional line runs, and wherever these areas of disagreement are, we will have been having and will keep having clashes,” he said “Galwan was just another example of one such clash,” he added.
Reviving Diplomatic Channels
Naravane said the situation had reinforced the need to resolve the boundary dispute through dialogue, referring to the Special Representatives mechanism between the two countries. “And that is precisely why the mechanism which is there of having talks between the special representatives of both the countries on the Chinese side, it is their Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on our side, it is our NSA Doval. And those talks were happening in the past; they had stalled for a long time, but have been revived now,” he said.
He further noted that the term “delimitation” had figured in the latest round of talks after a long gap, describing it as an important first step towards resolving a boundary dispute. “And in the last round of talks, for the first time in a long time, the word delimitation has cropped up. And delimitation is the first step towards solving any boundary issue,” Naravane said.
Global Standing Post-Galwan
Summing up the broader lesson from the Galwan clash, the former Army Chief said India had gained significantly in international reputation on military, diplomatic and political fronts. “So I think that is the greater lesson that has emerged from Galwan: India in the world gained very much in terms of reputation, both military as well as diplomatic and political,” he said.
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