The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 6th June 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

In the short term, stabilise the Line of Actual Control

Why in News?

For the last few years, the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has continued to remain extremely tense; it has just stopped short of a war, with the Doklam and Galwan crises. Every now and then, the media reports incidents of transgressions and stand-offs between Indian and Chinese troops at the LAC even as both countries incur a huge expenditure in ensuring defensive preparedness as well as better military infrastructure as they induct men, material and equipment close to the LAC.

Background:

• India and China share the world’s longest unmarked 3,488 km long border. India and China fought a full-fledged war in 1962 and since then have engaged in several small skirmishes along the borders, without any major war. 
• Both sides have substantial and growing military deployments along a mostly and unmarked, disputed border. 
• In early May, Chinese soldiers entered the Indian-controlled territory of Ladakh at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts which escalated the tensions and led to the stand-off. 

Border disputes among India & China:

• Here India shares 2152 km long border with China, and territorial disputes over Aksai Chin region of Jammu and Kashmir, with both countries claiming the region as their own. 
• The recent dispute is around the region of the northern bank of Pangong Tso lake, Demchok and the Galwan Valley.

• Here India roughly shares about 625 km long boundary with china with a few minor disputes regarding Tibet. 

• Here India shares a 1,140 km long boundary with China and this boundary line is called McMahon Line. 
• The major dispute here is around the region of Tawang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, Chumbi Valley (Dokalam Tri- Junction) which India shares with Bhutan. 

What is Line Of Actual Control (LAC)?

• The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
• For India  the LAC is 3,488 km long, while China considers it to be only around 2,000 km.
• It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which includes Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.
• LAC in the eastern sector consisting of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim is called the 1McMahon Line which is 1,140 km long. 
• The McMahon Line was a negotiation between India and Tibet under Simla Convention of 1913-1914, without the participation of the Chinese government and China considers the McMahon Line illegal and unacceptable. 

How Loc with Pakistan differs from LAC with China?

• LoC is delineated on a map signed by DGMOs of both armies and has the international sanctity of a legal agreement. In contrast, The LAC is only a concept, it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map or demarcated on the ground.

Who was McMahon?

• The McMohan line is named after Lieutenant Colonel Sir Arthur Henry McMahon. McMahon was a British Indian Army officer and administrator in the British Raj. He was foreign secretary of the British-run Government of India and the chief negotiator of the Simla Accord of 1914.
• McMahon proposed the line in the Simla Accord to separate Tibet from India in the eastern sector. China rejected the Simla Accord because it did not consider Tibet a sovereign government which could sign treaties. China also did not accept the boundaries between Inner and Outer Tibet.