India-China Border Issue UPSC NOTE

  What is Line of Actual Control (LAC)? It is the frontier between India and China. In a bilateral agreement in 1993, the idea of an 'Li...

 

What is Line of Actual Control (LAC)?

• It is the frontier between India and China.

• In a bilateral agreement in 1993, the idea of an 'Line of Actual Control' (LAC) came into being, although there was no clear settlement of land positions between these two countries.

• It is a large empty area and the armies of India and China maintain a gap of nearly 50 to 100 km.

• LAC is divided into three regions: Ladakh's western sector, Uttarakhand's middle sector and Himachal Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim's eastern sector.

India-China border issue

• India and China have a disputed boundary that stretches for about 3,488 km, running through  Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

• The boundary between China and India is called McMahon Line.

• Prior to China’s “liberation” or occupation of Tibet in 1950, India and China did not share a common boundary and it was ultimately the India-Tibet boundary that subsequently transformed into the India-China boundary.

• Since 1954, China has been claiming large tracts of territory along the entire border, including Aksai Chin in Jammu and Kashmir, some areas in Uttarakhand, and the entirety of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Western sector (Ladakh)(China is seeking claims).

• Trig Heights in the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) area

• Demchok in the south

• The Depsang Bulge

• Galwan

• Pangong Lake and Hot Springs

• Middle Sector (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand)

• In the Middle Sector, the dispute between the two nations is a minor one.

• Here the concern is regarding the precise alignment to be followed in the Barahoti plains regarding which both sides have exchanged maps on which they broadly agree.

• Eastern sector (Arunachal Pradesh):

• The international boundary and the LAC are defined by the 1914 McMahon Line.

• In 2020, the older arrangements, shaped by the agreements of 1993, 1996, 2005, and 2013, came apart in Ladakh after the Chinese massed troops in Tibet.

• They established blockades at six points on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to prevent Indian troops from patrolling the border.

• A clash at Galwan in June 2020 led to the deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers, the first such losses on the LAC since 1975.

• Clash, in December 2022, at Yangtse, north-east of Tawang.