India’s message to China: ‘Basis Of Bilateral Relations Eroded’

Published
28th Apr, 2023

Context

Underscoring the need for peace and tranquillity at the border, India said "Violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations".

Key-highlights

The meeting was held on the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) 's sidelines.
India stressed that bilateral ties between both countries have eroded and that any form of bilateral engagement between New Delhi and Beijing would be a function of peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control.

The issue in brief

India does not consider its current boundaries with China as an international border.

Mapping the border

The border between India and China is not clearly demarcated throughout.
Along specific stretches of its 3,488 km length, there is no mutually agreed Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The India-China border is divided into three sectors;
- Western: The boundary dispute in the Western Sector pertains to the Johnson Line proposed by the British in the 1860s that extended up to the Kunlun Mountains and put Aksai Chin in the then princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Middle: In the Middle Sector, is the only one where India and China have exchanged maps on which they broadly agree.
- Eastern: The dispute is over the McMahon Line.

The unresolved international boundary, with roots in imperial British cartographic blunders, is called-
- Line of Actual Control in India's North
- McMahon Line in the northeast

What are the other sources of contention between the two?

Competing interests: Despite growing economic cooperation, India and China have also been geopolitical rivals. Both countries are attempting to assert their global influence, and they have competing interests in a number of regions such as the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
Rivalry: India and China are rivals in the Asia-Pacific region.
- India has sought to increase its regional influence, forming alliances with several countries in the region, including Japan and Australia.
- China, on the other hand, has been attempting to assert its regional dominance by increasing its military and economic presence in the South China Sea.