China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs had issued names for 15 places in the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. The names are to be used in all official Chinese documents and maps, which show Arunachal as “south Tibet”.
India reacted to the action saying that “assigning formulated names” will not modify the truths on the ground or Arunachal Pradesh’s status as an integral part of India. The issuing of the names came ahead of a new land border law taking into effect on January 1, 2022.
What is inside this law?
Formulated in March 2021, a year into the problem along the Line of Actual Control, the border law, which took effect on January 1, 2022, details several duties for civilian and military authorities in China to take steps to “safeguard national sovereignty”.
- The new law enacts that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) shall set up boundary markers on all its land borders to mark the border.
- The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese People’s Armed Police Force are allocated the duty of protecting security along the border.
- On the topic of its border-sharing countries, the law enacts that the relations with these countries are to be established on standards of “equality and mutual benefit”.
- Also, the law gives provisions for the building of joint committees, both civil and military, with the said countries to adjust land border management and resolve border-related issues.
How will it affect India ?
The broader aim of the land border law, in the view of New Delhi, is to give legal cover and formalize the Chinese military’s violations across the LAC in 2020.
The border law also appears to give a fresh push to civilian agencies in China to continue carrying out the construction of infrastructure, including “frontier villages”, in border areas, including some in disputed territories along the border with India and Bhutan, the only two countries with which China has unsettled land boundaries.
Under the border village construction plan, launched in 2017, China is building 628 “first line and second line villages” in border areas and moving residents, mainly herders, to live in the new houses along the borders with India, Bhutan, and Nepal as well.
In November 2021, satellite images surfaced showing a second Chinese cluster of 60 newly built residences on what India sees as its territory in Arunachal Pradesh, around 100 km east of another village built in late 2020. The territory in question has been under Chinese control since 1959 and recently had Chinese military installations there, but the civilian constructions were seen as further strengthening Chinese claims.
About the land that is still disputed and under negotiation by the two sides. In October 2021, India communicated concern over the new law, saying that “China’s unilateral judgment to bring out a law which can have meanings on our existing bilateral arrangements on border management.
ABOUT CHINA BORDER
China has a 22,100-kilometer land border with 14 countries. It has resolved the boundary disputes with 12 neighbours.
India and Bhutan are the two countries with which China is yet to finalise the border agreements. China and Bhutan signed an MOU firming up a three-step roadmap for expediting the boundary negotiations.
India-China border disputes cover 3,488-km along the Line of Actual Control, China-Bhutan dispute covers about 400 km.
we write articles from top news sources of India and international news web portals. Because to understand the topics in a depth we need to read more than one source for the UPSC IAS exam. So every article got credit to PIB, The Hindu, Indian Express, Business Standard,NDTV, CNN, etc. And the conclusion of this article is also available on our youtube channel. Thanks for your love and support and queries and suggestions just mail us at [email protected].