Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement

Subject: IR

Section: Neighbouring countries

More about the news:

The 30th anniversary of the Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement (BPTA) between India and China recently passed without acknowledgement, highlighting its contested legacy today.
It was signed in 1993, the BPTA aimed to maintain peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and reduce the risk of unplanned confrontations.
However, the limited agreement inadvertently fueled an infrastructure race and increased incidents, leading to the deadly clash at Galwan in 2020.
The ambiguity surrounding the LAC, the inherent issue in the BPTA, contributed to the breakdown of subsequent agreements.
The India-China border remains unsettled, with the current crisis entering its fourth winter.

What is Line of Actual Control (LAC):

The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
It is divided into three sectors i.e the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.
India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
India’s claim line is the line seen in the official boundary marked on the maps as released by the Survey of India, including both Aksai Chin and Gilgit-Baltistan. This means LAC is not the claim line for India.
In China’s case, LAC is the claim line except in the eastern sector, where it claims the entire Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet.

What is the difference between LAC vs Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan:

The Line of Control (LoC) originated from the 1948 ceasefire line brokered by the UN after the Kashmir War.
Its formal designation as the LoC occurred in 1972, a result of the Shimla Agreement between India and Pakistan.
This delineation is officially documented on a map signed by the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) from both nations, providing it with the international legitimacy of a legal agreement.
In contrast, the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is merely a conceptual demarcation. It lacks mutual agreement between the two countries, with no official mapping or ground demarcation in place.