Editor’s note for Monday, June 28, 2021

A note from the editor of today's The China Project Access newsletter.

editor's note for Access newsletter

Thoughts today from Lucas, filling in for Jeremy this week:

A year after the India-China border clash, the not-well-defined line of actual control (LAC) running between the two countries in the Himalayas is more militarized than at perhaps any time since the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Bloomberg reports:

India has redirected at least 50,000 additional troops to its border with China in a historic shift toward an offensive military postureโ€ฆ

All in all, India now has roughly 200,000 troops focused on the borderโ€ฆwhich is an increase of more than 40% from last year.

The number of troops posted on the Chinese side is unknown, but Bloomberg says India made its latest move after it observed China building infrastructure, including new airfields in Tibet, and moving โ€œadditional forces from Tibet to the Xinjiang Military Command, which is responsible for patrolling disputed areas along the Himalayas.”

For more context on India-China relations and what part the unresolved border issue plays, see the latest issue of Ananth Krishnanโ€™s India-China Newsletter and The China Projectโ€™s archive of India-related stories.

Our word of the day is Baihetan Hydropower Station (็™ฝ้นคๆปฉๆฐด็”ต็ซ™ bรกihรจtฤn shuวdiร n zhร n).

โ€”Lucas Niewenhuis, Newsletter Editor (lucas@thechinaproject.com)