https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Depsang_standoffDepsang standoff - Revision history2026-10-25T05:25:23ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Depsang_standoff&diff=496326&oldid=prevStoutsanitaryware: adding new data w/ sources2026-04-08T22:24:22Z<p>adding new data w/ sources</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Military standoff in Aksai Chin between China and India}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2016}}<br />
{{infobox military conflict<br />
| conflict = Depsang standoff<br />
| partof = [[China–India relations]] <br />
| image = China India western border 88.jpg<br />
| image_size = 300px<br />
| caption = 1988 [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] map of the [[Line of Actual Control|Line of Actual Control (LAC)]] <br />
| date = 15 April – 5 May 2013<br />
| place = [[Burtsa Nala]] Valley ({{zh|c=天南河谷|l=Tiannan River Valley|labels=no}}), China–India LAC, [[Ladakh]]–[[Aksai Chin]]<br />
| coordinates = {{coord|35.1564|78.1314 |format=dms|display=inline,title}}<br />
| map_type = <br />
| map_relief =<br />
| latitude = <br />
| longitude = <br />
| map_size = <br />
| map_marksize =<br />
| map_caption = <br />
| map_label = <br />
| territory = <br />
| result = Chinese withdrawal <ref name="The Times of India 2013 m363">{{cite web | title=China tacitly acknowledges withdrawal of troops from Ladakh | website=The Times of India | date=2013-05-06 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/china-tacitly-acknowledges-withdrawal-of-troops-from-ladakh/articleshow/19911383.cms?from=mdr}}</ref><br />
| status =<br />
| combatants_header = Commandeers and Belligerents <br />
| combatant1 = {{flag|India}}<br />
----<br />
{{army|IND}}<br />
| combatant2 = {{flag|China}}<br />
----<br />
{{army|PRC}}<br />
| commander1 = [[Manmohan Singh]]<br>General [[Bikram Singh (general, born 1952)|Bikram Singh]], [[Indian Army|IA]] <br />
| commander2 = [[Xi Jinping]]<br>General [[Chen Bingde]], [[People's Liberation Army|PLA]] <br />
| units1 = [[Northern Command (India)|Northern Command]]<br />
| units2 = [[Lanzhou Military Region|Lanzhou MR]]<br />
| strength1 = <br />
| strength2 = <br />
| casualties1 = None <br />
| casualties2 = None <br />
| notes = <br />
| campaignbox =<br />
}}<br />
The '''Depsang standoff''', also called '''Depsang incursion''',<ref><br />
{{cite news |author=Joshi |first=Manoj |title=Making sense of the Depsang incursion |newspaper=The Hindu |date=2013-05-07 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/making-sense-of-the-depsang-incursion/article4689838.ece |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620013805/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/making-sense-of-the-depsang-incursion/article4689838.ece |archive-date=20 June 2013}}<br />
</ref> or '''Daulat Beg Oldi incident''',<ref><br />
{{cite web|author=Mihir Bhonsale |title=Understanding Sino-Indian border issues: An analysis of incidents reported in the Indian media |publisher=Observer Research Foundation |date=12 February 2018 |url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/understanding-sino-indian-border-issues-an-analysis-of-incidents-reported-in-the-indian-media/}}<br />
</ref>{{efn|The Indian media named the event after the better known [[Daulat Beg Oldi]] instead of [[Depsang Plains]] or [[Depsang Bulge]], even though the location was the latter.}}<br />
was an incursion and sit-in by a [[platoon]]-sized contingent of the Chinese [[People's Liberation Army|PLA]] in the dry river bed of [[Raki Nala]], in the [[Depsang Bulge]] area, 30&nbsp;km south of [[Daulat Beg Oldi]] near the [[Line of Actual Control]] (LAC) in the disputed [[Aksai Chin]] region.<ref name="Sawant"><br />
{{cite news |last=Sawant |first=Gaurav Chitranjan |title=India is no pushover, we are not scared of China: Salman Khurshid |newspaper=India Today |date=26 April 2013 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/neighbours/story/china-india-china-incursion-indo-china-border-160085-2013-04-25 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430195341/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/china-india-china-incursion-indo-china-border/1/267744.html |archive-date=30 April 2013 }}<br />
</ref><br />
<br />
Indian forces responded to the Chinese presence by quickly establishing their own encampment {{convert|300|m}} away. Negotiations between China and India lasted nearly three weeks, during which the Chinese position was supplied by trucks and supported by helicopters. The dispute was resolved on 5 May with Chinese withdrawal.<ref name="The Times of India 2013 m363"/><ref name="Bukhari"><br />
{{cite news |last1=Bukhari |first1=Fayaz |last2=Bhattacharjya |first2=Satarupa |title=India and China Withdraw Troops from Himalayan Face Off |newspaper=Global Post |date=7 May 2013 |url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130507/india-and-china-withdraw-troops-himalayan-face |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211131312/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130507/india-and-china-withdraw-troops-himalayan-face |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 December 2013 }}<br />
</ref> As part of the resolution, the Indian military agreed to refrain from constructing bunkers 250&nbsp;km away in the [[Chumar]] sector, which the Chinese perceived as threatening.<ref name="NDTV">{{cite news |last=Sen |first=Sudhi Ranjan |title=India-China pullback: what happened behind the scenes |newspaper=NDTV News |date=7 May 2013 |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-china-pullback-what-happened-behind-the-scenes-521330}}</ref><ref name="Defence News"><br />
Defence News. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130724185744/http://defencenews.in/defence-news-internal.asp?get=new&id=1554 "India Destroyed Bunkers in Chumar to Resolve Ladakh Row"]. ''Defence News''. 8 May 2013.<br />
</ref> <br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
The territorial incident occurred within a 38,000 square kilometre area of disputed territory between India and China, [[Aksai Chin]]. The Chinese claim that this area is part of [[Xinjiang]], while the Indians believe that this area is part of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. China and India signed two agreements, in 1993 and 1996, in order to establish protocols to resolve potential disputes in the region. These protocols included the mutual recognition of a "[[Line of Actual Control]]" (LAC), but disagreements continue between the two governments about where the LAC lies over a roughly 20&nbsp;km-wide swath in this sector. Indian media first said that the Chinese encampment was 10&nbsp;km on their side of where they view the LAC,<ref>{{Cite news |author=PTI |date=2013-04-19 |title=Chinese troops intrude into Indian territory in Ladakh, erect a tented post |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/chinese-troops-intrude-into-indian-territory-in-ladakh-erect-a-tented-post/articleshow/19638804.cms }}</ref> later revising that to 19&nbsp;km.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pandit |first=Rajat |last2=Dutta |first2=Sanjay |date=2013-05-02 |title=Chinese incursion 19km, but 750 sq km at stake for India |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Chinese-incursion-19km-but-750-sq-km-at-stake-for-India/articleshow/19826487.cms }}</ref> Despite the disputed area being an "unpopulated and desolate wasteland", it is believed to be strategically important to China because of the presence of [[China National Highway 219|a highway]].<ref name="Dutta"/><ref name="Goswami"><br />
{{cite news |last=Goswami |first=Namrata |title=China's Incursions Show Strategic Blindness |newspaper=Asia Times Online |date=9 May 2013 |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-03-090513.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511063050/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-03-090513.html |archive-date=11 May 2013 |url-status=usurped}}<br />
</ref><ref name=Lee1><br />
{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Peter |title=China's Border Rows Mirror Grim History |newspaper=Asia Times Online |date=3 May 2013 |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-030513.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506014925/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-030513.html |archive-date=6 May 2013}}<br />
</ref>{{efn|There was significant speculation in the Indian media as to the identity of the "highway" mentioned by their sources. It was most likely a reference to the [[Tiankong Highway]], linking China's [[Tianwendian]] and [[Kongka Pass]] outposts. It was constructed during 2010–2012, immediately prior to the standoff, and runs next to the Depsang Bulge area. See map.}} Since the late 1980s, border disputes between India and China have successfully been resolved through diplomacy.<ref name="Dutta"><br />
{{cite news |last=Dutta |first=Sujan |title=Battle of tents and banners on border |newspaper=Telegraph India |date=2013-04-26 |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/battle-of-tents-and-banners-on-border/cid/1570845 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430211641/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130426/jsp/nation/story_16829604.jsp#.UY4orLWnp2R |archive-date=30 April 2013}}<br />
</ref><br />
<br />
After large-scale Chinese infrastructure improvements adjacent to the region, the Indian army began to develop the infrastructure on their side in the 2000s, which was perceived by the Chinese military as a potential threat.<ref><br />
{{cite news |last=Bharti |first=Jain |title=China Sore with Indian Bid to Build Infrastructure along LAC |newspaper=The Economic Times |date=25 April 2013 |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/and/nation/China-sore-with-Indian-bid-to-build-infrastructure-along-LAC/articleshow/19719917.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501041607/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/and/nation/China-sore-with-Indian-bid-to-build-infrastructure-along-LAC/articleshow/19719917.cms |archive-date=1 May 2013 }}<br />
</ref> The Indian government claims that Chinese troops continue to illegally enter the area hundreds of times every year. Most of these occur without incident, but in 2011 Chinese military forces entered 18&nbsp;km into the disputed area in order to dismantle "17 structures made up of loose stones in the shape of bunkers".<ref><br />
{{cite news |author=Healines Today Bureau |title=Chinese troops had dismantled bunkers on Indian side of LoAC in August 2011 |newspaper=India Today |date=25 April 2013 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/chinese-troops-had-dismantled-bunkers-on-indian-side-of-line-of-actual-control-in-august-2011-160035-2013-04-24}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Incident==<br />
===Military deployments===<br />
[[File:Depsang Bulge.jpg|thumb|right|305px|The [[Depsang Bulge]] area, Indian territory that was partly occupied by China during the [[Sino-Indian War|1962 war]];<ref>P. J. S. Sandhu, [https://thewire.in/security/india-china-xi-jinping-lac-border-modi-1962-war It Is Time to Accept How Badly India Misread Chinese Intentions in 1962 – and 2020], The Wire, 21 July 2020. "However, there was one exception and that was in the Depsang Plain (southeast of Karakoram Pass) where they seemed to have overstepped their Claim Line and straightened the eastward bulge."<br />
</ref> the location of the standoff is at the confluence of the Raki Nala with Burtsa Nala.]]<br />
<br />
During the night of 15 April 2013, a platoon of 50 Chinese troops established an encampment in four tents in the dry river bed of Raki Nala in the [[Depsang Bulge]], which represents the valley of Burtsa Nala or Tiannan River ({{zh|c=天南河|p=Tiān nán hé}}).{{sfnp|Nyachu, The Depsang Standoff|2013}}<ref name="Sawant"/><ref name=Pandit><br />
{{citation |last=Pandit |first=Rajit |title=China's Ladakh Incursion Well-planned |newspaper=Times of India |date=26 April 2013 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Chinas-Ladakh-intrusion-well-planned-but-govt-playing-it-down/articleshow/19733737.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430195341/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/china-india-china-incursion-indo-china-border/1/267744.html |archive-date=30 April 2013 }}<br />
</ref><ref><br />
[https://www.openstreetmap.org/directions?engine=fossgis_osrm_car&route=35.1199%2C78.0380%3B35.3914%2C77.9211#map=10/35.2563/77.9796&layers=Y Burtsa to Daulat Beg Oldi] on OpenStreetMap, retrieved 25 January 2021.<br />
</ref><br />
The encampment was discovered the next day by the [[Indo-Tibetan Border Police]], who then set up an encampment of their own consisting of eight tents 300 meters away from the Chinese. The Chinese force was supplied by trucks and supported by helicopters.<ref name="Goswami"/> The Indian government considered this the most serious border incident in years.<ref name="Bukhari"/><br />
<br />
The Indian military followed a policy of restraint, attempting to keep the issue "localized" and "tactical", in order to give the Indian government the opportunity to resolve the issue through diplomacy. Throughout the incident no shots were fired and the Indian military did not attempt to outflank the Chinese. Minimal efforts were made by the Indian army to reinforce the position after its initial deployment, though the two sides did raise banners encouraging each other to withdraw. Much of the negotiations were conducted between officers present in the two camps.<ref name="Dutta"/> Western media largely interpreted China's actions as a show of force by the Chinese military, but some journalists speculated that the incident was possibly conducted by the Chinese military as a way to protest the perceived existence of a "permanent facility" that the Indian army had built in a disputed area.<ref name=Lee1/> China's military think tank later tried to suggest that the incident was "accidental" and "not deliberately staged".<ref name="accidental"><br />
{{Cite news |last=Bagchi |first=Indrani |date=2013-07-15 |title=Depsang Bulge incursion accidental, Chinese military thinktank says |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/depsang-bulge-incursion-accidental-chinese-military-thinktank-says/articleshow/21088756.cms?from=mdr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102104152/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Depsang-Bulge-incursion-accidental-Chinese-military-thinktank-says/articleshow/21088756.cms |archive-date=2 November 2017 }}<br />
</ref><br />
<br />
===Resolution===<br />
The Indian government protested diplomatically, asking the Chinese to withdraw their military and to recognise the status quo that existed before the incident.<ref><br />
{{cite news |author=PTI |title=China's Ladakh incursion: Restore status quo before incident, says India |newspaper=Firstpost |date=2013-04-23 |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/chinas-ladakh-incursion-restore-status-quo-before-incident-says-india-722047.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526235000/http://m.firstpost.com/india/chinas-ladakh-incursion-restore-status-quo-before-incident-says-india-722047.html |archive-date=26 May 2013}}<br />
</ref> The Chinese responded by publicly denying that there was any border issue, stating that their forces did not cross what they perceived the LAC to be.<ref><br />
{{citation |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-04/24/c_132336965.htm |title=FM: China-India Border Troops Strictly Observe Agreements |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507105901/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-04/24/c_132336965.htm |archive-date=7 May 2013 |newspaper=Xinhua |date=24 April 2013}}<br />
</ref> <br />
<br />
On April 27, Prime Minister [[Manmohan Singh]] told that, "We do have a plan. We do not want to accentuate the situation. We do believe that it is possible to resolve this problem. It is a localised problem. I think the talks are going on."<ref name="Economic Times">{{cite web | title=Chinese incursion: India does not want to accentuate situation says Manmohan Singh | website=The Economic Times | date=2013-04-27 | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/chinese-incursion-india-does-not-want-to-accentuate-situation-says-manmohan-singh/articleshow/19753776.cms?from=mobile&from=mdr}}</ref> India opted not to take military action and pressed on with a long-planned visit to China by its foreign minister, [[Salman Khurshid]].<ref><br />
{{citation |last1=Pradhan |first1=Bibhudatta |last2=MacAskill |first2=Andrew |title=Indian Foreign Minister to Visit China to Reduce Border Tensions |newspaper=Bloomberg News |date=25 April 2013 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-04-25/indian-foreign-minister-to-visit-china-to-reduce-border-tensions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229181646/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-25/indian-foreign-minister-to-visit-china-to-reduce-border-tensions.html |archive-date=29 December 2013}}<br />
</ref> Within the [[Parliament of India|Indian Parliament]], the government was heavily criticised by the opposition for its handling of the incident<ref name="Defence News"/> who compared it to India's defeat in the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]]. On 3 May, shortly before the dispute was resolved, the Indian parliament was adjourned after opposition members became disruptive, shouting "get China out, save the country".<ref name="Bukhari"/> The negotiations lasted nearly twenty days, during which the Chinese military increased their presence in the region.<ref name="Goswami"/> To resolve the issue, India agreed to a Chinese demand to demolish some live-in bunkers in the [[Chumar]] sector, 250&nbsp;km to the south, and refrain from building more bunkers which the Chinese perceived as threatening.<ref name="NDTV"/> Other Chinese demands included the demolition of Indian listening and observation posts built along the border, and an end to the undocumented passage of nomadic shepherds into the Chinese side, but it was not clear to what degree India agreed to these demands.<ref name="Defence News"/> Following the resolution of the dispute, the Chinese military withdrew.<ref name="Goswami"/><ref name="The Times of India 2013 m363"/> The standoff ended on 5 May.<ref name="Bukhari"/><br />
<br />
The Chinese military in July 2014 acknowledged the incursion at the [[Depsang Valley]] in Ladakh region and said that such incidents occurred due to [[differing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control]].<ref><br />
{{cite news |title=Chinese army admits 2013 incursion at Depsang Valley for 1st time |newspaper=India Today |date=31 July 2014 |url=http://m.indiatoday.in/story/chinese-incursion-pla-depsang-valley-ladakh-colonel-geng-yansheng-lac-india-mod/1/375031.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907213316/http://m.indiatoday.in/story/chinese-incursion-pla-depsang-valley-ladakh-colonel-geng-yansheng-lac-india-mod/1/375031.html |archive-date=7 September 2017 |url-status=live}}<br />
</ref><br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
*[[Arunachal Pradesh]]<br />
*[[China–India relations]]<br />
*[[Sino-Indian border dispute]]<br />
*[[2020–2021 China–India skirmishes]]<br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
{{notelist}}<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
==Bibliography==<br />
* {{citation |last=Nyachu |first=Deldan Kunzes Angmo |title=The Depsang Standoff at the India-China Border along the LAC: View from Ladakh |journal=Himalayan and Central Asian Studies |volume=17 |number=3/4 |date=July–December 2013 |id={{ProQuest|1470421272}} |ref={{sfnref|Nyachu, The Depsang Standoff|2013}}}}<br />
* {{citation |first=Isabelle |last=Saint-Mézard |title=The Border Incident of Spring 2013 : Interpreting China-India Relations |journal=Hérodote |volume=150 |number=3 |year=2013 |pages=132–149 |doi=10.3917/her.150.0132 |url=https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_HER_150_0132--the-border-incident-of-spring-2013.htm# |ref={{sfnref|Saint-Mézard, The Border Incident|2013}}|doi-access=free }}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150505215740/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130426/images/26zzkashmir1big.jpg Four graphics illustrating the incident].<br />
<br />
{{China–India relations}}<br />
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{{PRC conflicts}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Depsang standoff, 2013}}<br />
[[Category:Conflicts in 2013]]<br />
[[Category:April 2013 in China]]<br />
[[Category:May 2013 in China]]<br />
[[Category:April 2013 in India]]<br />
[[Category:May 2013 in India]]<br />
[[Category:Military operations of the Kashmir conflict involving China]]<br />
[[Category:Aksai Chin]]<br />
[[Category:Battles and conflicts without fatalities]]<br />
[[Category:Armed standoffs in Asia]]<br />
[[Category:2010s in Ladakh]]</div>Stoutsanitaryware