Indo-China Frontiers: Detailed Analysis of Land Borders and Disputed Areas

India's Land and Coastline

• India has 15,106.7 km of land border running through 92 districts in 17 States and a coastline of 7,516.6 km [6,100 km of mainland coastline + coastline of 1,197 Indian islands] touching 13 States and Union Territories (UTs).



• Barring Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Haryana, and Telangana, all other States in the country have one or more international borders or a coastline and can be regarded as frontline States from the point of view of border management.
• India’s longest border is with Bangladesh, while the shortest border is with Afghanistan.
• The length of India’s land borders with neighboring countries varies, with the border with China being the second longest.

Border with China

• This is the second longest border of India, next only to its border with Bangladesh.
• Five Indian states, namely Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh touch the Indian boundary with China.
• The Sino-Indian border is generally divided into three sectors:
  • Western Sector:
    • Separates Jammu and Kashmir (Ladakh) from the Xinjiang province of China.
    • This sector's boundary is largely the outcome of British policy towards Jammu and Kashmir.
    • China claims the Aksai Chin district, the Changmo valley, Pangong Tso, and the Sponggar Tso area of north-east Ladakh, as well as a strip of about 5,000 sq km down the entire length of eastern Ladakh.

    

    • China also claims part of the Hunza-Gilgit area in North Kashmir (ceded to it in 1963 by Pakistan).
  • Middle Sector:
    • Two Indian states, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, touch this border.
    • India shares about 625 km long boundary with China in this sector, running along the watershed from Ladakh to Nepal.

    

    • There is not much disagreement over the border in this area.
  • Eastern Sector:
    • The 1,140 km long boundary between India and China runs from the eastern limit of Bhutan to a point near Diphu pass (Talu Pass) at the trijunction of India, Tibet, and Myanmar.

    

    • This line is referred to as the McMahon Line, after Sir Henry McMahon, who negotiated the boundary agreement between Great Britain and Tibet at the Shimla Accord in 1913-14.
    • China considers the McMahon Line illegal and unacceptable, claiming that Tibetan representatives who signed the 1914 Convention held in Shimla had no rights to do so.

Disputed Territories

• Western Sector:
  • India shares about 2,152 km long border with China in this sector, between the Union Territory of Ladakh and Xinjiang Province of China.
  • There is a territorial dispute over Aksai Chin, with India claiming it as part of Jammu and Kashmir, while China claims it as part of Xinjiang.
  • The dispute can be traced back to the failure of the British Empire to clearly demarcate a legal border between China and its Indian colony.
  • Two borders between India and China were proposed during British rule:
    • Johnson’s Line (1865): Shows Aksai Chin as part of Jammu and Kashmir (now Ladakh) under India’s control.
    • McDonald Line (1893): Places Aksai Chin under China’s control.
    • India considers Johnson Line as the correct national border, while China considers McDonald Line as the correct border.
    • The Line of Actual Control (LAC) currently separates Indian areas of Ladakh from Aksai Chin and is concurrent with the Chinese Aksai Chin claim line.
• Middle Sector:
  • In this sector, India shares about 625 km long boundary with China, running along the watershed from Ladakh to Nepal.
  • Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand touch this border with Tibet (China). Both sides have minimal disagreement over this border.
• Eastern Sector:
  • India shares a 1,140 km long boundary with China in this sector, running 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 the McMahon Line.
  • China considers the McMahon Line illegal and unacceptable, claiming that Tibetan representatives who signed the 1914 Convention held in Shimla had no rights to do so.