Context: Chinese nationals have started occupying several of their model “Xiaokang” border defence villages across India’s north-eastern borders
- China has been constructing 628 such “well-off villages” along India’s borders with the Tibet Autonomous Region, including Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh for over five years now.
- This infrastructural drive raises concern in India as the dwellings are understood to be “dual-use infrastructure” i.e. it can be used for both civil and military purposes and seen as a Chinese assertion of its territorial claims along the LAC which remains disputed between the neighbouring countries.
- China has also been constructing infrastructure, including border villages, in Bhutanese territory.
Indian Response to border construction
Indian government has launched Vibrant Village Programme with a three-fold objective that it aims to deliver
- First, Improve connectivity and basic amenities in border villages to curb migration from these areas. Lack of roads, healthcare, education and economic opportunities have led to migration of youth from border villages in search of jobs. This poses challenges for border security as it reduces the population providing intelligence inputs.
- Second, Boost the local economy in border villages through promotion of tourism, trade and handicrafts. This will provide livelihood support to communities living in harsh border conditions.
- Third, Strengthen security in border areas by enabling access for defence forces and boosting the morale of local communities. Lack of infrastructure has hampered patrolling in some border areas. Locals acting as ‘eyes and ears’ also need to feel connected to the mainstream.
- The Government of India has identified villages in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh, and in the Tawang region such as Zemithang, Taksing, Chayang Tajo, Tuting and Kibithu.
- Further, three major highways are at different stages of construction in Arunachal Pradesh: the Trans-Arunachal Highway; the Frontier Highway; and the East-West Industrial Corridor Highway.
- There are plans to improve connectivity to Tawang with the construction of at least two alternate axes —in addition to the existing one connecting Guwahati and Tawang.
About LAC (Line of Actual Control)
- The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km. The line is divided between the Eastern, Middle and the Western Sector.
- Initially, India rejected the concept of LAC in both 1959 and 1962. However the LAC was discussed during Chinese Premier Li Peng’s 1991 visit to India, where PM P V Narasimha Rao and Li reached an understanding to maintain peace and tranquillity at the LAC.
- India formally accepted the concept of the LAC when PV Narasimha Rao paid a return visit to Beijing in 1993 and the two sides signed the Agreement to Maintain Peace and Tranquillity at the LAC
Why did India accept LAC?
- The Indian and Chinese patrols were coming in more frequent contact during the mid-1980s, after the government formed a China Study Group in 1976 which revised the patrolling limits, rules of engagement and pattern of Indian presence along the border.
- Finally due to the Sumdorongchu standoff, when PM Rajiv Gandhi visited Beijing in 1988, the two sides agreed to negotiate a border settlement, and pending that, they would maintain peace and tranquillity along the border.
Difference between LOC and LAC?
- The Line Of Control (LoC) emerged from the 1948 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 LAC, in contrast, is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map or demarcated on the ground.
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