Kongka La incident

The Kongka La incident was a military skirmish on the Sino-Indian border at Kongka Pass on October 20, 1959.

Kongka La incident
DateOctober 20, 1959
Location
Kongka Pass
Result Chinese victory; Indian withdrawal
Belligerents
 China  India
Units involved
People's Liberation Army Indo-Tibetan Border Force
Strength
14 70[1]
Casualties and losses
1 killed 9 killed
3 wounded
7 captured

Background

China considers the Kongka Pass as its boundary with India, whereas India regards Lanak Pass further east as the boundary.[2]

Incident

On October 20, 1959, three Indian border patrol officers crossed the Kongka Pass to the south of the empty Kazan Pass in the northwestern part of Tibet. They were warned by Chinese border guards, but the Indians ignored their warning.[3] The border guards then detained the Indians. The next day, on October 21, an Indian patrol consisting of 70 border patrol officers entered the same area to search for the men who were declared missing, but were ambushed by the Chinese, who were well-entrenched and firing from high positions. The Indians scrambled for cover and returned fire, killing a Chinese soldier, Wu Guoqing. The remaining 13 members of the Chinese patrol team led by squad leader Wenjie then responded. The Chinese counterattacked, forcing them to retreat. The battle ended with nine Indian border patrol officers dead, three others wounded, and seven captured by the Chinese.[4]

Wu Guoqing was buried in Shuler Martyrs Cemetery.[5][6]

Aftermath

After the incident, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a communique on October 23, accusing China of aggression. On October 26, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China replied to India's allegations, and expressed the hope that the Indian government will focus on Sino-Indian friendship and maintain the border peace.[7]

In India, the Indian government’s explanation of the incident set off a strong nationalist sentiment: Nehru’s attitude towards the border issue gradually changed.[8] On November 7, Zhou Enlai sent a letter to Nehru, proposing two steps to resolve disputes: 1. China and India each fall back 20 kilometers to set aside a buffer zone for conflict; 2. Hold a moderate-level talks between China and India. On November 16, Nehru replied with a letter rejecting the proposal.[9]

On November 14, the Chinese border guards handed over the captured Indian soldiers, bodies and weapons.[10] In 1960, Zhou Enlai visited India and met with Prime Minister Nehru to propose a settlement of the border issue. He did not accept the Indian side.[11] Since June 1962, the Indian Prime Minister Nehru issued a forward policy. In August, China issued diplomatic protests which accused India of violating the McMahon Line.[12] The Indian government maintained that the intention of the McMahon Line was to set the border along the highest ridges, and that the international border fell on the highest ridges of Thag La, about 3 to 4 miles (4.8 to 6.4 km) north of the line drawn by Henry McMahon on the treaty map.[13][14] These events led to the Sino-Indian War.[15]

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References
  1. Arif, Sheikh. "Sino-India Border War". School of Studies in Political Science and Public Administration, Vikram University.
  2. Maxwell, Neville (1970). India's China War. New York: Pantheon. p. 13. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  3. World Knowledge Publishing House (1962). Printed Border Issues Volume 3. Beijing: World Knowledge Publishing House. p. 56.
  4. Chinese People's Liberation Army Historical Data Series Editorial Board (1997). Communist Remembrance Historical Materials 3. Beijing:解放军出版社. p. 213. ISBN 7-5065-3348-0.
  5. Naifu, Cui, ed. (2002). The People's Republic of China's Toponymic Dictionary Volume 5. Beijing:商印书. p. 7777. ISBN 7-100-03254-7.
  6. "Shuol government information website--Shule County Martyrs Cemetery Maintenance and Reconstruction Project successfully passed the project completion acceptance". Silele County People's Government. Archived from the original on 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  7. Sun Tingjin (2016). Saying the history of the surrounding history on the transition. Beijing: China Friendship Publishing Company. p. 427. ISBN 978-7-5057-3809-6.
  8. <Wang Hongwei (1998). Himalaya Complex China-India Relationship Study. Beijing: China Tibetology Press. pp. 170–174. ISBN 7-80057-319-2.
  9. 周卫平著 (2006). 100 years of Sino-Indian relations. Beijing: World Knowledge Publishing House. pp. 242–245. ISBN 7-5012-2881-7.
  10. 《People's Liberation Army General” Editorial Board Edit (1997). People's Liberation Army Tongjian 1927-1996. Lanzhou: Gansu People's Publishing House. p. 1815.
  11. "Indo-China War of 1962". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  12. Calvin, James Barnard (April 1984). "The China-India Border War". Marine Corps Command and Staff College. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  13. Maxwell, Neville (9 September 2006). "Settlements and Disputes: China's Approach to Territorial Issues" (PDF). Economic and Political Weekly. 41 (36): 3876. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-09-29.
  14. A.G. Noorani, "Perseverance in peace process" Archived 26 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine, India's National Magazine, 29 August 2003.
  15. Vivek Ahuja. "Unforgiveable Mistakes, The Kongka-La Incident, 21st October 1959" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-02.
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