Border Disputes between India and China

While the world waits for the next moves in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, another border dispute is receiving less attention. India and China have a 2,167-mile border that has been a source of contention between the two countries for over 80 years. In 1962, the two countries went to war over the border, resulting in a standoff that continues to this day. India accused China of capturing the borderlands.

In recent times, ties between India and China have deteriorated. In the Himalayan area, the two world powers are at odds along their disputed border, known as the Sino-Indian war. The Sino-Indian boundary dispute is a long-running territorial dispute between China and India regarding the sovereignty of two relatively large and numerous smaller, isolated land areas.

War of 1962

In 1962, India and China fought a brief war over this border. The 1959 Tibetan rebellion sparked the war, followed by a series of deadly border clashes between the two countries. In the meantime, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began patrols into Ladakh, and India erected several outposts along the boundary. In October 1962, war broke out, with the PLA pushing Indian soldiers back. In November, the countries agreed to a ceasefire after international pressure to stop the war, and China withdrew to the “Line of Actual Control,” which now constitutes the present border.

The Root Cause of Tension

The boundary between India and China is not well-defined throughout the country. There is no mutually-accepted Line of Actual Control for some of its 3,488-kilometer length (LAC). Following independence, India believed it had inherited clear limits from the British, but China disagreed. This disagreement has turned out to be a threat to both countries. Neither country wants to give up the land. China believed that the British left a contentious legacy on the border between the two newly constituted republics.

The Sino-Indian war has been going on for a long time. The first of the regions, Aksai Chin, is administered by China and claimed by India as part of the union territory of Ladakh. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway runs through it, and it is the most deserted high-altitude wasteland in the bigger territories of Kashmir and Tibet. Located south of the McMahon Line and previously known as the North-East Frontier Agency, Arunachal Pradesh is the other disputed territory. The McMahon Line was included in the 1914 Simla Convention between British India and Tibet, signed without China’s consent. China rejects the pact, claiming Tibet was never autonomous when the Simla Convention was signed.

Present-Day Stand

Only one war has occurred between the two countries, which ended in India’s catastrophic loss in 1962. Despite the tight situation, both countries claim to want to avoid another war. Given that both countries are growing superpowers with modern militaries and nuclear weapons, this conflict is increasingly relevant. Furthermore, the two countries together account for 35% of the global population and 21% of the global GDP.

The two sides are also battling to build infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control, which runs parallel to the border. Due to a series of agreements between India and China that kept the peace till 2017, the border region was largely peaceful until 2017. However, cross-border violence and disagreements have increased in recent years, with both sides strengthening their sides of the border. One of the leading causes of a battle with Chinese troops in June – which resulted in the demise of 20 great Indian soldiers – is considered to be the construction of a new road leading to a high-altitude air station in India.

The Future of the Dispute

Despite this progress, there is little reason to fear that India and China will go to war. Simply put, neither side would gain significantly from a war. Fighting in the Himalayas is difficult, and dismounted operations would be crucial. Logistics would be challenging because of the weather and terrain, and army morale would be destroyed. Furthermore, neither side has a clear technological advantage that may give them an edge in a fight. It would be a horrible fight of attrition that neither side would want to engage in. However, the conflict is quite persistent, and neither country wants to back off.

Conclusion

Although the final resolution of this conflict is unknown as of now, it is likely to drag on for quite some more time. Both sides seem to be trying to imbue a sense of patriotism and restore faith in the federal government through this border dispute. They are fighting for regional domination and do not want to be perceived as weak, no matter what. The border conflict gives both countries a chance to show off their military and economic might. Given India’s connection with Pakistan and China’s engagement with the West, this is essential for both countries.