McMahon Line

From Free net encyclopedia

The McMahon Line (Chinese: 麦克马洪线, Màikèmǎhóng Xiàn), which was originally created by the British during their colonial rule in British India, provides the basis for the eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of India, running from the border of Bhutan in the west to Myanmar in the east. It is regarded by India as a permanent national border, but is not recognized by the PRC as anything more than a temporary line of control. The PRC claims most of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which lies to the south of this line, as part of its Tibet Autonomous Region and considers the McMahon Line to be an illegal line of occupation. Currently the armies of both countries are posted on each sides of the Line of Actual Control.

The two sides also disagree over the position of the line itself. The Sumdorong Chu Valley, at the westernmost point of the line, is claimed by both sides to lie within their zone of control.

British administrator Sir Henry McMahon drew up the 550-mile McMahon Line as the border between British India and Tibet during the Simla Conference, as Britain sought to advance its line of control and establish buffer zones around its colony in South Asia. The conference took part between Britain, Tibet , and Chinese Empire, which was acknowledged by the British as having suzerainty over Tibet. The Tibetan and British representatives at the conference agreed to the line, which ceded Tawang and other Tibetan areas to British India; however the Chinese representative refused to accept the line because of domestic pressures. The Chinese position since then has been that since China was sovereign over Tibet, the line was invalid without Chinese agreement. As a result, China has not accepted the validity of the McMahon Line and regards India's control of Arunachal Pradesh as an illegal occupation.

For the first two decades after the Simla Conference, the Survey of India did not show the McMahon Line as the border between British India and Tibet either; only in 1937 did they publish a map showing it as the official boundary; in 1938 the Survey of India published a map showing Tawang as a part of Tibet. In 1944, Britain established administrations in the area, from Dirang Dzong in the west to Walong in the east. The situation developed further as India became independent and the People's Republic of China was established in the late 1940s: with the PRC poised to take over Tibet, India unilaterally declared the McMahon Line to be the boundary in November 1950, and forced the Tibetan administration out of the Tawang area in 1951, despite Tibetan and PRC protests. [1][2]

The issue was quiet during the next decade or so of cordial Sino-Indian relations, but erupted again during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Troops of the PRC crossed the McMahon Line on the August 26, 1959, and captured an Indian outpost at Longju, a few miles south of the line. They abandoned this in 1961 but in October 1962 crossed the line once again, this time in force, beginning the Sino-Indian War. After striking toward the Tanglha ridge and Tawang, which is near the Bhutan border, the PRC later extended their attack across the whole frontier. Deep inroads were made at a number of points. However, the PRC agreed to withdraw back to the McMahon Line and returned Indian prisoners of war in 1963. The Indian government attributes this to the preparedness of India to defend the plains of Assam, the superiority of the Indian Air Force, and logistical problems of the PRC; the PRC government maintains that political considerations were the only factor in their retreat.fr:Ligne Mac-Mahon sv:McMahonlinjen zh:麦克马洪线