2013 Daulat Beg Oldi incident

On 15 April 2013, a platoon of 50 Chinese troops established an encampment of four tents 30 km southeast of Daulat Beg Oldi [1] at about 16,300 feet in elevation in the Raki Nala valley.[10] This 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 supported by trucks and helicopters.[6] The Indian government considered this the most serious border incident in years.[3]

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.[7] 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.[2] China's military think tank later tried to suggest that the incident was "accidental" and "not deliberately staged".[11]

The Indian government protested diplomatically, asking the Chinese to withdraw their military and to recognise the status quo that existed before the incident.[12] 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.[13] India opted not to take military action and pressed on with a long-planned visit to China by its foreign minister, Salman Khurshid.[14] Within the Indian Parliament, the government was heavily criticised by the opposition for its handling of the incident [4] 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".[3]

The negotiations lasted nearly twenty days, during which the Chinese military increased their presence in the region.[6] To resolve the issue, India agreed to a Chinese demand to demolish several "live-in bunkers" in the Chumar sector, 250 km to the south. 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.[4] Following the resolution of the dispute, the Chinese military withdrew.[6] The standoff ended on 5 May.[3]