The territorial disputes between the two countries result from the historical consequences of colonialism in Asia and the lack of clear historical boundary demarcations. There was one historical attempt to set a proposed boundary, the McMahon Line, by the United Kingdom during the
1913–1914 Simla Convention. One of the earliest treaties regarding the boundaries in the western sector was issued in 1842 following the
Dogra–Tibetan War. The
Sikh Empire of the
Punjab region had annexed
Ladakh into the state of
Jammu in 1834. In 1841, they invaded Tibet with an army. Tibetan forces defeated the Sikh army and, in turn, entered Ladakh and besieged
Leh. After being checked by the Sikh forces, the Tibetans and the Sikhs signed the
Treaty of Chushul in September 1842, which stipulated no transgressions or interference in the other country's frontiers. The
British defeat of the Sikhs in 1846 resulted in transfer of sovereignty over Ladakh to the British, and British commissioners attempted to meet with Chinese officials to discuss the border they now shared. However, both sides were sufficiently satisfied that a traditional border was recognised and defined by natural elements, and the border was not demarcated.
The Johnson Line (near top right corner). The previous border claimed by the
British Indian Empire is shown in the two-toned purple and pink band with
Shahidulla and the Kilik, Kilian, and Sanju Passes clearly north of the border.
W. H. Johnson, a civil servant with the Survey of India, proposed the "Johnson Line" in 1865, which the British claimed Aksai Chin to be in Jammu and Kashmir. This was the time of the Uyghur occupation, when China did not control
Xinjiang, so this line was never presented to the Chinese. Johnson presented this line to the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, who then claimed the 18,000 square kilometres contained within his territory and by some accounts he claimed territory further north as far as the
Sanju Pass in the
Kun Lun Mountains. The Maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir constructed a fort at Shahidulla (modern-day
Xaidulla), and had troops stationed there for some years to protect caravans. Eventually, most sources placed Shahidulla and the upper
Karakash River firmly within the territory of Xinjiang (see accompanying map). According to
Francis Younghusband, who explored the region in the late 1880s, there was only an abandoned fort and not one inhabited house at Shahidulla when he was there – it was just a convenient staging post and a convenient headquarters for the nomadic
Kirghiz. The abandoned fort had apparently been built a few years earlier by the
Dogras. In 1878, the Chinese had reconquered Xinjiang, and by 1890, they already had Shahidulla before the issue was decided. In 1899, Britain proposed a revised boundary, initially suggested by Macartney and developed by the Governor General of India
Lord Elgin. This boundary placed the Lingzi Tang plains, which are south of the Laktsang range, in India, and Aksai Chin proper, which is north of the Laktsang range, in China. This border, along the
Karakoram Mountains, was proposed and supported by British officials for a number of reasons. The Karakoram Mountains formed a natural boundary, which would set the British borders up to the
Indus River watershed while leaving the
Tarim River watershed in Chinese control, and Chinese control of this tract would present a further obstacle to Russian advance in
Central Asia. The British presented this line, known as the Macartney-MacDonald Line, to the Chinese in 1899 in a note by Sir
Claude MacDonald. The Qing government did not respond to the note. According to some commentators, China believed that this had been the accepted boundary.
1899 to 1947 Both the Johnson-Ardagh and the Macartney-MacDonald lines were used on British maps of India.
Since 1947 Upon
independence in 1947, the government of India fixed its official boundary in the west, which included the Aksai Chin, in a manner that resembled the Ardagh–Johnson Line. India's basis for defining the border was "chiefly by long usage and custom". Unlike the Johnson line, India did not claim the northern areas near
Shahidulla and
Khotan. From the Karakoram Pass (which is not under dispute), the Indian claim line extends northeast of the Karakoram Mountains north of the salt flats of the Aksai Chin, to set a boundary at the
Kunlun Mountains, and incorporating part of the
Karakash River and
Yarkand River watersheds. From there, it runs east along the Kunlun Mountains, before turning southwest through the Aksai Chin salt flats, through the Karakoram Mountains, and then to
Pangong Lake. Chinese boundary markers, including one set up by the newly created Chinese Republic, stood near
Walong until January 1914, when T. O'Callaghan, an assistant administrator of
North East Frontier Agency (NEFA)'s eastern sector, relocated them north to locations closer to the McMahon Line (albeit still South of the Line). He then went to Rima, met with Tibetan officials, and saw no Chinese influence in the area. By signing the
Simla Convention with Tibet, the British had violated the
Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, in which both parties were not to negotiate with Tibet, "except through the intermediary of the Chinese Government", as well as the
Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1906, which bound the British government "not to annex Tibetan territory". Because of doubts concerning the legal status of the accord, the British did not put the McMahon Line on their maps until 1937, nor did they publish the Simla Convention in the treaty record until 1938. Rejecting Tibet's 1913 declaration of independence, China argued that the Simla Convention and McMahon Line were illegal and that the Tibetan government was merely a local government without treaty-making powers. Tibetan officials continued to administer
Tawang and refused to concede territory during negotiations in 1938. The governor of Assam asserted that Tawang was "undoubtedly British" but noted that it was "controlled by Tibet, and none of its inhabitants have any idea that they are not Tibetan". During World War II, with India's east threatened by Japanese troops and with the threat of Chinese expansionism, British troops secured Tawang for extra defence. China's claim on areas south of the McMahon Line, encompassed in the NEFA, was based on the traditional boundaries. India believes that the boundaries China proposed in
Ladakh and
Arunachal Pradesh have no written basis and no documentation of acceptance by anyone apart from China. The Indian government has argued that China claims the territory on the basis that it was under Chinese imperial control in the past, However, the practice that India does not place a claim to the regions which previously had the presence of the
Mauryan Empire and
Chola Dynasty, but which were heavily influenced by Indian culture, further complicates the issue. However, India claimed that the
intent of the treaty was to follow the main watershed ridge divide of the Himalayas based on memos from McMahon and the fact that over 90% of the McMahon Line does in fact follow the main watershed ridge divide of the Himalayas. They claimed that territory south of the high ridges here near Bhutan (as elsewhere along most of the McMahon Line) should be Indian territory and north of the high ridges should be Chinese territory. In the Indian claim, the two armies would be separated from each other by the highest mountains in the world. During and after the 1950s, when India began patrolling this area and mapping in greater detail, they confirmed what the 1914 Simla agreement map depicted: six river crossings that interrupted the main Himalayan watershed ridge. At the westernmost location near Bhutan, north of Tawang, they modified their maps to extend their claim line northwards to include features such as Thag La ridge, Longju, and Khinzemane as Indian territory.
Sikkim The
Nathu La and Cho La clashes were a series of military clashes in 1967 between India and China alongside the border of the Himalayan
Kingdom of Sikkim, then an Indian
protectorate. The end of the conflicts saw a Chinese military withdrawal from Sikkim. In 1975, the Sikkimese monarchy held a
referendum, in which the Sikkimese voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining India. At the time China protested and rejected it as illegal. The Sino-Indian Memorandum of 2003 was hailed as a
de facto Chinese acceptance of the annexation. China published a map showing Sikkim as a part of India and the Foreign Ministry deleted it from the list of China's "border countries and regions". Chinese Prime Minister
Wen Jiabao said in 2005 that "Sikkim is no longer the problem between China and India." == Boundary disputes ==