INDO-SINO BORDER ISSUES

1. Context

2. Indo-Sino Border

• The border between India and China is not clearly demarcated throughout. India and China share a total boundary of approximately 3,488 kilometers (second largest after Bangladesh).
• Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh all share a border with China.
   
• The Sino-Indian border is generally divided into three sectors: the western, middle, and eastern sectors.
   
• India, following Independence, believed it had inherited boundaries from the British, but this was contrary to China's view. China felt the British had left behind a disputed legacy on the boundary between the two newly formed republics.

3. Western Sector

• India and China share a 2152-Kilometre long border in the western sector. It is located between the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir and the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
• There is a territorial dispute in this sector over Aksai Chin. In 1962, both countries went to war over the disputed territory of Aksai Chin. It is claimed India is part of Kashmir, while China claims it to be part of Xinjiang.
• The dispute over Aksai Chin can be traced back to the British Empire's failure to establish a clear legal border between China and its Indian colony. During British rule in India, two proposed borders between India and China were Johnson's Line and McDonald's Line.
• The Johnson Line (proposed in 1865) places Aksai Chin in Jammu and Kashmir, under Indian control, whereas the McDonald Line (Proposed in 1893) places it under Chinese control.
• India considers the Johnson Line to be the correct, rightful national border with China, whereas China considers the McDonald Line to be the correct border with India.
• At the moment, the Line of Actual Control (LAC) separates Indian areas of Jammu and Kashmir from Aksai Chin. It runs parallel to the Chinese Aksai Chin claim line.

4. Middle Sector

• In this sector, India and China share a 625-Kilometre long border that runs from Ladakh to Nepal.
• In this sector, the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand touch the border with Tibet (China). In this area, there is little disagreement between the two sides.

5. Eastern Sector

• In this sector, India shares a 1,140 km long boundary with China.
• It runs from the eastern limit of Bhutan to a point near the Talu pass at the trijunction of Tibet, India, and Myanmar.
• This boundary line is called as McMohan Line.
• The boundary was established along the Himalayan crest of the northern watershed of the Brahmaputra, except where the Kemang, Subansiri, Dihang, and Lohit rivers break through that watershed.
• China considers the McMohan Line illegal and unacceptable claiming that Tibetan representatives who had signed the 1914 convention held in Shimla which delineated the McMohan Line on the map were not having the right to do so.

6. Line of Actual Control (LAC)

• The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-Controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
• India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
• The alignment of the LAC in the eastern sector is along the 1914 McMohan Line, and there are minor disputes about the positions.
• India rejected the concept of LAC in both 1959 and 1962.
• After the 1962 war, the Chinese claimed they had withdrawn to 20 km behind the LAC in November 1959.
• During the Doklam crisis in 2017, China urged India to abide by the "1959 LAC".
• India objected that the Chinese line was a disconnected series of points on a map that could be joined up in many ways.