Reuters AlertNet Lite - FACTBOX-India and China border dispute festers

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FACTBOX-India and China border dispute festers

21 Nov 2006 04:51:56 GMT
Source: Reuters

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao holds talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday during a four-day visit aimed at building trust and boosting ties.

Border disputes have plagued relations between the neighbours for decades. Here are some details about those disputes:

OVERVIEW

- The Asian giants still claim vast swathes of each other's territory along their 3,500-km (2,173-mile) Himalayan border, which has remained largely peaceful since a border war in 1962.

- The border was never demarcated. In the years before Indian independence in 1947, British colonial rulers saw little need to demarcate such a remote area and later the two sides were unable to agree on a common border.

- The 1962 war broke out after China occupied 38,000 square km (15,000 square miles) of territory in the remote Aksai Chin plateau on the western stretch of the border, using it to build a road into Tibet. India said the occupation was illegal.

- India also says Beijing is illegally holding 5,180 square km of northern Kashmir ceded to it by Pakistan in 1963.

- China lays claim to 90,000 square km of land on the eastern sector of the border in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

TIMELINE

1954 - India and China sign an agreement outlining "five principles of peaceful co-existence". India recognises Chinese sovereignty over Tibet.

1956 - China begins construction of a highway linking Xinjiang and Tibet, directly across Aksai Chin.

1958 - China publishes a map showing Aksai Chin as part of its territory; India protests.

1959 - The Dalai Lama flees Tibet and is granted asylum in India, enraging China.

1962 - Border skirmishes escalate into full-scale war. Chinese troops overrun Indian military positions in Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh before a ceasefire. China withdraws to pre-war positions behind the McMahon line dividing the two countries along Arunachal Pradesh. The ceasefire line becomes known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

1963 - Pakistan cedes 5,160 square km of Kashmir to China.

1981-1987 - Eight rounds of border talks end in deadlock.

1986 - India makes Arunachal Pradesh a full-fledged state from a federally ruled territory amid Chinese protests.

1993 - India, China sign agreement to maintain "peace and tranquillity" along the LAC.

1996 - Another agreement is signed to cut military forces along the LAC.

2000 - After two decades of talks, India and China exchange maps on the least controversial middle segment of their frontier.

2003 - Special envoys are appointed to map out a resolution of the dispute; India accepts in writing for the first time that Tibet is part of China.

2005 - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sign an agreement on the "guiding principles" to resolve the dispute; China formally abandons its claim to the Himalayan state of Sikkim. Source: Reuters

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Last updated:Tue Nov 21 04:54:46 2006