Strategic Importance of Sikkim

The strategic importance of Sikkim was realized in 1960s during the 1962 Indo-China war and subsequent clashes at Nathu La and Chola in 1967. Sikkim is a strategic territory for both India and China. Sikkim borders countries such as Nepal and Bhutan, in which India and China are competing to have influence.

Sikkim also lies very close to the Siliguri corridor (also called as the Chicken neck corridor),which, if cut in the case of war or otherwise would cut the connection between mainland of India and the Northeastern states.

For the Chinese side, close religious contact between Sikkim’s Buddhists and their Tibetan counterparts is a matter of concern. Sikkim’s Rumtek monastery acts as the seat of Karmapa (one of the most important leaders in Tibetan Buddhism), whose position is presently disputed by two claimants. Close proximity of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) to Sikkim and the presence of people of Tibetan descent in Sikkim is also a matter of concern for China.

Sikkim’s 204km (approx) border with China’s TAR remains heavily disputed and unsettled.

As a part of cultural diplomacy and people-to-people contact, India has announced e-visa facility for Chinese tourists. The two sides in 2015 also signed an agreement that provides an additional route for the annual Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La Pass in Sikkim, in addition to the existing Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand.

Ironically, the route through Nathu La pass is viewed as around about and circuitous alternative route for pilgrims, given the fact that Kailash-Mansarovar is located close to the Uttarakhand-Nepal-Tibet tri-junction. The new route entails a long and arduous detour for the pilgrimages.

Infrastructure development (India Vs China)

Strategically located, Sikkim is a landlocked state with only one major road link – the National Highway-10. NH-10 cannot be operated and is closed for days due to landslides during monsoon. So, Sikkim suffers from disruption in supply of essential commodities when roads are blocked.

To overcome the shortcomings and to enable military movement to the region in short times, a 52.7 km rail link between Sevoke in West Bengal and Rangpo in Sikkim is envisaged and was supposed to be ready by December 2015, but it got stuck in a procedural tangle. As Sikkim shares its border with China, the project has strategic importance, too. The proposed rail lines will facilitate movement of both men and material to the border areas at a short notice and with ease.

The main issue of contention for the project is the use of 86 hectares of forest land, which needs clearance from the environment ministry. Also, under the Forest Rights Act 2006, the project needs to be cleared by the local gram Sabhas. But, the Kurseong and Kalimpong divisions of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council do not have panchayats. The rail line tracks will pass through Mahananda sanctuary and forest divisions of Kurseong, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and East Sikkim which are known for their rich wildlife diversity. It is also contested that wild elephants and other protected animals are mowed down by trains along another broad gauge line inside the sanctuary.

The Supreme Court has very recently given nod to the railway line from Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim. The New Rail Line Project is a 44.98 km with only 7.6% of the tracks falling in Sikkim and it is likely to accelerate socio-economic development of the people in the region once built.

The court also instructed the railways to strictly adhere to environmental safeguards fixed by the national wildlife board, which approved the project in June 2015.

Nathula pass

After the 1962 border war with China, Nathu La and Jelep La, the two main passes, which connect Sikkim with Tibet, were closed for trade. Lhasa, which is the capital of Tibet is barely 425 km from Nathu La. In June 2006, the Nathu La Pass, a century-old trading post, which is 4,545 meters above sea level was reopened after being closed for 40 years.

After Vajpayee’s visit to China in 2003, both countries agreed to resume trade through Nathu La pass and signed the declaration of principles for relations and comprehensive cooperation including the memorandum on expanding border trade that provided for the formal reopening of Nathu La as a border trade pass between Indian and China.

In 2003, China invested about 200 billion RMB (USD24.3 billion) in infrastructure projects in the western region. China has further unveiled its plans to extend the Chinese National Rail Network to the border with India. Nathu La will help China in connecting to Kolkata, the closet warm water port to Lhasa.

It is envisaged that a fully equipped route across Nathu La has the prospect to change the trade in this sector of Asia as the distance from Kolkata to Lhasa through this route is less than 1200 km.

Trade through Nathu La is in the interest of people from both sides of the border and would bring economic prosperity. However, the flip side of the problem is small traders may face competition from the Chinese market competition and the market in the region would be flooded with cheap Chinese goods and would make the indigenous market less competitive.

The benefit of opening Nathu La is not only for economic prosperity. The strategic and political dimensions must also be considered.

Chumbi valley and its significance

Chumbi Valley is located at the tri –junction of India-China-Bhutan. The region is close to India’s Siliguri Corridor (chicken neck corridor). The Siliguri Corridor connects the rest of India with the Northeast, and Nepal with Bhutan. Chumbi Valley is also of equal strategic significance to China because of the valley’s shared border with Tibet and Sikkim. Any development in the Chumbi Valley that alters the status quo in Beijing’s favour will have serious implications for India. It is to be noted that China wants to widen the Chumbi valley by claiming areas in the west and north of Bhutan. History of Bhutan-China border dispute starts from 1950 and bilateral talks to resolve the issue started from 1984. In the event of a war, China could seek to cut off the Siliguri corridor.

It is also contested by some scholars that Chumbi valley has restricted deployment space. They further state that there is no other place in India’s northern borders which has severe limitation for military maneuvers as the Chumbi valley has.

End Notes

Chinese infrastructure has been increasingly developed and better in the region for some time now. India, on the other hand has been indifferent demonstrating little sense of urgency on the issue. The roads in Gangtok are not all-weather roads and are incapable of carrying a high volume of trade. On the Tibet side, China has built up a four-lane all-weather roads connecting Lhasa with Gangtok. By paying emphasis on the western region, the Chinese government is trying to prevent any restlessness and tighten its grip on Tibet. It is contested that China may try to influence Sikkim and bring unrest in the otherwise peaceful state.

India has to revise its frontier policy and should devise policies, which will be pragmatic and proactive. Bureaucratic and procedural hurdles have to be curtailed in order to improve our strategic assets in this strategic State.