As per the reports, China has built a surface-to-air missile near a lake which is a part of Kailash-Mansarovar amid the rising border tensions with India over the standoff in the Eastern Ladakh Sector.
According to the experts, the development of the missile indicates the continued provocation by the Chinese which can also further complicate the border tensions between the two countries.
Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash which are commonly known as Kailash-Mansarovar site is significant to four religions and are also linked to the culture and spiritual scriptures in India.
About Missile site at Kailash- Mansarovar:
The missile mounted near Kailash-Mansarovar by China is called DF-21. It is a medium-range, 2,200 Kms ballistic missile. One of the major advantages of the missile is that it can easily cover all the cities of North India, including New Delhi.
How does the construction of the missile site at the sacred place affect India?
The placing of the missile by China at the sacred site, which is also known as the origin of four transitional rivers- Brahmaputra, Indus, Karnali, and Sutlej, menaces India which had earlier refused to back down against the Chinese aggression.
According to the experts, China’s move of creating a military infrastructure at Kailash-Mansarovar will only further intensify the anti-China sentiment within India and the fact that the place happened to be one of the sacred religious sites for Hindus also confirms the disdain Beijing has for the Indian sentiments.
China doesn’t care about symbols and symbolism except for those that are tied to the Chinese Communist Party.
Kailash-Mansarovar plays a major religious and cultural significance in many religions. While the Hindus consider the site as the abode of Shiva and his consort Parvati, the Tibetan Buddhists call Mountain Kailash Kang Rimpoche, the “precious one of glacial snow” and refer it as the abode of Demchog and his consort, Dorje Phagmo.
The Bons, adherents of the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet, they term the mountain Tise and also revere it as the dwelling place of the sky goddess, Sipaimen. While the Jains call the Mountain Astapada and also consider it to be the place where the first of their 24 spiritual masters had achieved liberation.
What can be the purpose behind setting a missile site?
According to Priyajit Debsarkar, a geopolitical analyst and an author, the decision of setting up a missile site is a continuation against India which can be seen all along from LAC in Ladakh to the eastern and middle sector bordering the areas with India.
The latest missile base at Kailash-Mansarovar is a part of China’s greater militarisation of the TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region).
The move of deploying must not come as a surprise to India as it is pure authoritarian brinkmanship and an attempt to provoke India, which had refused to back down against China's threat and aggressive actions.
It will only accentuate more tension in an already troubled relationship between the two countries and will only make Indian policymakers more determined to stand up to China.
China’s plan of setting up a missile is also a response to India, which has recently built a road to the Himalayan pass of strategic value. The site is meant to provoke India as it has constructed the road up to Lipulekh.
Talks between India and China:
The talks between the countries have been going on for the last three months. It includes the five general-level talks which have failed to give any results so far.
As a failure to any constructive result, the Indian Army further decided to took measures to strengthen its position and thwart the intentions of the Chinese government to unilaterally change the facts on the ground.
Background: India-China standoff
India and China have been engaged in a standoff since April-May 2020 because of the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including Galwan Valley, Finger area, Kongrung Nala, and Hot Springs. In June 2020, 20 soldiers martyred in a violent face-off with the Chinese military in Eastern Ladakh.
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