News Highlight
India and China discussed ways to establish a better understanding to manage airspace and avoid airspace violations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
This was discussed during the routine Confidence Building Measures (CBM) talks on the ground in eastern Ladakh.
Key Takeaways
- Confidence Building Measures (CBM) talks come in the backdrop of the recent airspace violations by Chinese fighter jets as they came very close to the LAC while taking part in annual exercises, prompting the Indian Air Force to scramble its fighters.
- The Indian side raised the issue of recent violations during the talks.
- As per the existing agreements between India and China, the operation of fighter aircraft and armed helicopters is restricted to a distance from the LAC.
- According to the ‘Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the LAC in India-China Border Area’ of 1996, “combat aircraft (to include fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, military trainer, armed helicopter and other armed aircraft) shall not fly within 10 km of the LAC.”
Timeline of India-China Border disputes since 1947
- 1947: China constructed a 1,200-km long road connecting Xinjiang and western Tibet. 179km of the stretch ran south of the Johnson Line through the Aksai Chin region, which India claims as part of the union territory of Ladakh.
- 1960: Officials from India and China held discussions to settle the boundary dispute, based on an agreement between the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his Chinese counterpart Zhou Enlai.
- 1962: The boundary dispute escalated into the Sino-Indian War.
- 1975: China condemns the merger of Sikkim with India.
- 1976: India and China agreed to resume appointing diplomats to the other nation after 15 years.
- 1986-87: Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh are met by the Indian Army’s ‘Operation Falcon.
- 1988: India and China had agreed to set up a joint working group on the boundary issues.
- 1993: Agreement signed on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control, thus recognising the LAC.
- 1996: India and China signed an agreement on confidence-building measures along LAC.
- 1999: China built a 5 km track up to Pangong Tso’s southern bank amid the Kargil conflict with Pakistan.
- 2000: China built permanent roads and bunkers inside the Indian part of LAC in Ladakh’s Aksai Chin area.
- 2013: Chinese troops intrude into Depsand Valley in Ladakh. In October, the two sides signed the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement.
- 2020: Violent escalations occur in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley amid senior military-level talks.
Line of Actual Control
- 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 only around 2,000 km.
- It is divided into three sectors:
- Eastern sector, which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim
- Middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Western sector in Ladakh.
Three Disputed sectors of the Sino-Indian border
- Western Sector
- The main concern of the dispute in the Western Sector is related to the sovereignty of the Aksai Chin region.
- India argues that Aksai Chin is part of the Indian territory of Ladakh, but on the other side, China argues that Aksai Chin is part of the Xinjiang province of China.
- The historical root cause of the dispute can be traced back to the period of British rule.
- During the British period, two boundary commissions were appointed; one marked Johnson’s line of 1865 which shows the Aksai Chin region of Ladakh is part of India, but McDonald’s line marked in 1893 shows Aksai Chin is part of Xinjiang province of China.
- India considers Johnson’s line as the correct demarcation, but China upholds McDonald’s, which led to the dispute.
- The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the border between Indian Ladakh and Aksai Chin. It runs parallel to the Chinese claim line of Aksai Chin.
- Middle Sector
- In the middle sector, India and China share around 625 kilometres of the border, which run along Indian states like Uttarakhand and Himachal, which terminate at Nepal, where a trijunction of Lipulekh is located.
- This is the only area where the two countries have reached a consensus.
- Eastern Sector
- In the Eastern Sector, India shares a border of 1140 km, and borders run along the Indian states like Arunachal Pradesh.
- The border is demarcated as the McMahon line that extends from the eastern limit of Bhutan to a point near the Talu Pass at the trijunction of Tibet, India, and Myanmar.
- China claims the majority of Arunachal Pradesh’s territory is part of Southern Tibet.
Pic Courtesy: Times of India
Content Source: The Hindu