New Delhi: It has been a week since India reached a settlement, an agreement, or an arrangement—if you want to be overly cautious or diplomatic—with China on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
This extends to areas where the two sides had fraught relationships, clashes, contestation, or a state of contestation since the early spring of 2020 (March-April). In some of those areas, some arrangements had earlier been arrived at in different stages.
However, those arrangements left out some other areas. One such area was up north, called the sub-sector north, DBO, or Depsang area, with the Depsang plains facing it. Another was deep south—say, some five to 60 kilometres south of that—the Demchok area.
The new arrangement covers these areas, separating the patrols from the two sides. This raises a larger question: Have the two countries agreed on a broader framework to prevent future patrol clashes and maintain peace and tranquillity along the border while still upholding their respective claims?
Confusion remains about the specifics, new or existing buffer zones, and whether India and China have made similar agreements for other regions, such as Yangtze. It is important to note that the current tensions are not solely about China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh or India’s claims over Aksai Chin. The core issue revolves around the Chinese 1959 claim line. This line is significant because China seeks control up to this line—a point it has emphasised since 2020. The 1959 claim line first entered discussions at the Shimla Convention, which saw the establishment of the McMohan line on 3 July 1914.
In Episode 1543 of #CutTheClutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta and Defence Editor Snehesh Alex Philip discuss the new arrangements around LAC, the 1959 claim line debate, and more.