Explained: What Are The Origins Of India-China Border Conflicts In Ladakh & Arunachal Pradesh

Tensions between two nuclear-armed neighbours India and China is again in the news. This is after intense fighting between soldiers of both countries in Galwan valley last year.

The root cause of the conflict between two countries happens to be an absence of definite and agreed-upon borders.

In order to understand the nature of conflict one has to understand the history of these un-agreed demarcations.

What is the border conflict?

The main conflict between India and China concerns the differences over the borders between two countries in different regions especially Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

The issue traces its roots back to British Imperial times. As more and more areas came under British control, it sought to fix its boundaries.

In the process of their settlement of borders with China, there always remained a conflict and this conflict continued to post their exit.

Today¡¯s India-China border also known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), is recognised by neither of countries and this conflict is particularly intense in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

Galwan Valley near the Line of Actual Control (which is the de fecto border between China and India on the eastern side of Ladakh) is where the tensions were high between neighbouring nations last year.

Aksai Chin, which lies on the eastern side of LAC, is currently under Chinese control but is claimed by India as a part of its recently created union territory of Ladakh.

This region is close to Pamirs. Persian geographers call it Bam e Dunya, meaning roof of the world.

This region is strategically very important. Roger Llyod Kennion, an officer in the British Indian Army and travel writer, explaining the importance of this region said, ¡°What Port Said is to Suez Canal, Leh is to Central Asia.¡±

AFP/Representational image

History of the conflict

The conflict in this region traces its history to the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Dogra rule.

Following the treaty of Amritsar, the Jammu and Kashmir including Ladakh were transferred to Gulag Singh. Aksai Chin region was put into the newly formed state by William Johnson, who surveyed the region in 1897.

The boundary line such created came to be known as the Johnson line.

This line was preferred by Maharaja since this line increased the borders of his state.

In around 1899, the Britishers revised their proposed borders with China in this region. This time they put the Aksai Chin region on the Chinese side.

The main reason behind this move was to keep Russians away. This line came to be known as the Macartney-Macdonald line.

What happened after the British exit?

Following the exit of the British from the subcontinent, this region became the focus of a dispute between two newly formed nations - India and Pakistan. Both of the countries claimed the whole of the princely state.

While Pakistan claimed it on the basis of the Muslim majority population in the state, India claimed it on the basis of accession signed by its last ruler.

But China¡¯s part in this dispute was totally different. With China, the dispute was regarding the borders. While India claimed the Johnson line to be their border with China in the region, China claimed the Macartney-Macdonald line to be one.

For China, this issue became more important following the taking over of Tibet.

Since Aksai Chin connected the Xingjiang region with Tibet. After the first Indo-Pak war in 1947, Pakistan took control of what is today called Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and the Gilgit Baltistan region of the former princely state. And India controlled the rest of the state.

During this time even though India claimed all of Ladakh, it did not control all of it.

China-Pakistan pact

Following the recognition of the People¡¯s republic Of China by Pakistan, China resolved the border issues with Pakistan on the table.

The Gilgit Baltistan region shared the borders with China. Both countries reached an agreement where both recognised the Macartney-Macdonald line to be the legitimate one.

Accordingly, Pakistan recognised China¡¯s sovereignty over the territories they claimed to be theirs including Aksai Chin.

Keeping in mind the disputed nature of this region two agreed to reopen the negotiations following the settlement of the dispute.

Claims on Aksai Chin

With India, both countries stuck to the different boundary lines, both claiming Aksai Chin theirs. As stated earlier this region connects Xinjiang with Tibet, as such this area was very important for China.

Following the occupation of Tibet, China built a road in this area. This resulted in protests from the India. This was ultimately followed by the Indo-China war in 1962, where India lost some of its territories while China fermented its control in Aksai Chin.

This resulted in new demarcation coming into being in the eastern side of Ladakh, which is known as the line of actual control.

People Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers and tanks during military disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at the India-China border in Ladakh | AFP

What's the tussle in Arunachal Pradesh?

In the East, towards Arunachal Pradesh, Britishers tried to settle the borders in the 1914 Shimla Convention.

It was a border agreement between Tibet and the Britishers. Since Tibet wasn¡¯t part of China back then, China wasn't a part of this agreement.

In this convention, borders between both countries were agreed upon it came to be known as McMohan Line. It is this line which is regarded as official borders by India and not China.

China claims many areas south as part of its territory. The conflict on this side came into prominence after China occupied Tibet and started sharing border with Indiaon this side as well.

But again there was no one accepted borders. While India recognised the McMohan line based on Shimla Convention, China claimed there was no agreed border arrangement and claimed many areas on historic grounds.

In the 1962 war, China also crossed over from this side but the LAC over the eastern side especially in Arunachal Pradesh is still more or less as per the Mcmohan Line.

It is China¡¯s claim of Lands beyond this line that makes the situation complicated for both countries.

Apart from Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh India and China have border disputes in other regions as well and the core issue remains the same, China¡¯s claim of land beyond the Actual Line of Control.