The Dispute over Aksai Chin

Profile of the Author - Nakshatra Bhasin is a second year student of Amity Law School, Noida.

Introduction

Aksai Chin is the disputed border area between India and China. Located 5000 meters above the sea level, it is a huge desert of salt with cold and dry climate which makes it uninhabitable for humans. The region is currently administered by China as a part of its Xinjiang and Tibet Autonomous region and constitutes the eastern portion of the Ladakh region in Kashmir. China claims that it is an ancient and temporary trade pass for caravans of yaks between Xinjiang and Tibet.

Geography

Aksai Chin consists largely of a high, isolated and mostly uninhabitable plain bordered to the west and southwest by the Karakoram Range and to the north and northeast by the Kunlun Mountains. Its terrain is more rugged to the northwest, and there is internal drainage into small alkaline lakes in the east. [1]

Why is Aksai Chin a Disputed Area?

Because of its remote location, Aksai Chin was not paid attention to for a long time. In 1950s, after China officially had a communist regime, it carried out strategies in order to expand its area and have a military grip over Aksai Chin. The Chinese then started to construct a highway which connects Tibet to XinJiang. The road constructed by the Chinese Army passed through the region of Aksai Chin. On this, India made objections and alleged China of invading in its territory. Obviously, the Indian Army now made all attempts to stop this new development in the region of Aksai Chin which soon led to the “Sino-Indian” war in 1962. In order to hold its grip in the Aksai Chin region as well as parts of Arunachal Pradesh, China sent its military troops to both the regions. After holding its grip in both the regions, China called off its troops from Arunachal Pradesh and only retained Aksai Chin as its area, in order to have a strategic advantage over India. At the conclusion of the war, China captured around 38,000 square km of territory in Aksai Chin. The demarcation of the actual border depends on two different theories of two British civil servants namely - William Johnson and Sir Claude MacDonald. The region, until now remains a matter of dispute between the two countries. The failure of the British Empire to clearly demarcate a legal border between India and China has led to the ongoing tussle.

India’s Claim

India under the British rule, followed the “Johnson's Line of control” who in 1865 proposed that Aksai Chin lies in the territory of India and falls under the Kashmir’s governance. After the “Sino-Indian war” in 1962, India claims that China has acquired approx 38,000 sq. Km of its land in Aksai Chin which originally belongs to the Ladakh region.

China’s Claim

China stays firm to its claim that Aksai Chin is a part of its Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The line that separates Indian-administered areas of Ladakh from Aksai Chin is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and is concurrent with the Chinese Aksai Chin claim line. China occupied Aksai Chin claiming that it was part of the ancient and medieval Chinese empire. It is a convenient claim from an era when boundaries did not have the same sanctity as they do in the times of nation-states.

If the same logic is extended, Tibet becomes an illegal occupation of China. The same Tibet had an intricate trade and cultural relation with Ladakh of which Aksai Chin is a part. [2] Also, in April 2019, China conducted its second edition of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), thereafter China unveiled a map which showed Aksai Chin as a part of China’s Territory.

Present Day Situation

Presently, India claims that 15% of the total area of its Jammu and Kashmir is illegally occupied by China. Jammu- Kashmir along with Aksai Chin is an integral part of India. It stays firm to its claim of China illegally acquiring 38000 sq.km of its territory of the Ladakh region.

Both Indian and Chinese soldiers often inadvertently transgress into the territory of each other due to the differences in their perception of the alignment of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). 

Conclusion

Aksai Chin, a disputed border area between India and China, is a huge desert of salt with a cold and dry climate. In 1950s, when China, in order to expand its territory, constructed a highway passing through Aksai Chin which connected Xinjiang province of China with Tibet, India opposed this development, which later led to the “Sino-Indian” war in 1962. At the conclusion of the war, China had captured its 38,000 sq.km of land (of Ladakh region). The region still remains disputed and creates high tension amongst both the countries, despite many rounds of military-level talks.

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References.

[1] Kenneth Pletcher, Aksai Chin, ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin

[2] Prabhash K Dutta, How China captured Aksai Chin, INDIA TODAY, June 22, 2020 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/how-china-captured-aksai-chin-1691562-2020-06-22