LoC /LAC
- April 20, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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LoC /LAC
Subject: Security
Context: Army chief: No firing at LoC since February; hope to settle China issues through talks.
Concept:
Line of Control
- The LoC emerged from the 1948 as “ceasefire line” negotiated by the UN after the Kashmir War.
- It was designated as the LoC in 1972, following the Shimla Agreement between the two countries. It is delineated on a map signed by DGMOs of both armies and has the international sanctity of a legal agreement.
- The part that is under Indian control is known as the state of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
- The Pakistani-controlled part is divided into Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan. The northernmost point of the Line of Control is known as NJ9842.
Line of Actual Control
- The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
LAC is different from the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan:
- The LoC emerged from the 1948 ceasefire line negotiated by the United Nations (UN) after the Kashmir War.
- It was designated as the LoC in 1972, following the Shimla Agreement between the two countries. It is delineated on a map signed by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of both armies and has the international sanctity of a legal agreement.
- The LAC, in contrast, is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map nor demarcated on the ground.
- Length of the LAC: India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
Sectors Across the LAC:
- It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim (1346 km), the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh (545 km), and the western sector in Ladakh (1597 km).
- The alignment of the LAC in the eastern sector is along the 1914 McMahon Line.
- The McMohan line marked out previously unclaimed/undefined borders between Britain and Tibet.
- The middle sector is the least disputed sector, while the western sector witnesses the highest transgressions between the two sides.