LINE OF ACTUAL CONTROL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: India's External Affairs Minister emphasized the need for India and China to intensify efforts towards complete troop disengagement and restoring peace on the Line of Actual Control to normalize bilateral relations.

Line of Actual Control (LAC)

• About: The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
• Three Areas: Western (Ladakh, Kashmir),

omiddle (Uttarakhand, Himachal) and

oeastern (Sikkim, Arunachal).

• As LAC is not fully and officially demarcated, it has led to differing perceptions regarding the alignment, with China making territorial claims in the following areas.
• The countries disagree on the exact location of the LAC in various areas, so much so that India claims that the LAC is 3,488 km long while the Chinese believe it to be around 2,000 km long.
• The two armies try to dominate by patrolling the areas up to their respective perceptions of the LAC, often bringing them into conflict.

Importance of Ladakh

• About: Ladakh, also known as "the Land of Passes," is the largest among the regions of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, 
• Coverage: Area of 95,876 km2. It is administered by India as a union territory.
• Bordering Territories: Shares borders with the Chinese Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, Himachal Pradesh to the south, Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass to the west and far north, respectively.