Line of Actual Control

The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation line^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.^[5] The concept was introduced by Chinese premier Zhou Enlai in a 1959 letter to Jawaharlal Nehru as the "line up to which each side exercises actual control", but rejected by Nehru as being incoherent.^[6]^[7] Subsequently, the term came to refer to the line formed after the 1962 Sino-Indian War.^[8]

The LAC is different from the borders claimed by each country in the Sino-Indian border dispute. The Indian claims include the entire Aksai Chin region and the Chinese claims include Zangnan (South Tibet)/Arunachal Pradesh. These claims are not included in the concept of "actual control".

The LAC is generally divided into three sectors:^[5]^[9]

the western sector between Ladakh on the Indian side and the Tibet and Xinjiang autonomous regions on the Chinese side. This sector was the location of the 2020 China–India skirmishes.
the middle sector between Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh on the Indian side and the Tibet autonomous region on the Chinese side.
the eastern sector between Zangnan (South Tibet)/Arunachal Pradesh on the Indian side and the Tibet autonomous region on the Chinese side. This sector generally follows the McMahon Line.^[a]

The term "line of actual control" originally referred only to the boundary in the western sector after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, but during the 1990s came to refer to the entire de facto border.^[10]

^ Clary, Christopher; Narang, Vipin (2 July 2020), "India'S Pangong Pickle: New Delhi's options after its clash with China", War on the Rocks: "By the end of the month, Indian and Chinese media had focused attention on several points along the Indian territory of Ladakh in the western sector of the disputed border, known as the Line of Actual Control. In this sector, that official name for the boundary is a misnomer: There is no agreement on where any "line" is, nor is there a clear mutual delineation of the territory under "actual control" of either party."
^ Joshi, Manoj (2015), "The Media in the Making of Indian Foreign Policy", in David Malone; C. Raja Mohan; Srinath Raghavan (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Indian Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press, p. 274, ISBN 978-0-19-874353-8: "The entire length of the 4,056 km Sino-Indian border is disputed by China and exists today as a notional Line of Actual Control. This line is not marked on the ground, and the two countries do not share a common perception of where the line runs."
^ Ananth Krishnan, Line of Actual Control | India-China: the line of actual contest Archived 9 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of the LAC has never been agreed upon, and it has neither been delineated nor demarcated. There is no official map in the public domain that depicts the LAC. It can best be thought of as an idea, reflecting the territories that are, at present, under the control of each side, pending a resolution of the boundary dispute."
^ Torri, India 2020 (2020), p. 384: "An unending source of friction and tension between China and India has been the undefined nature of the LAC... Connecting the points effectively held by either China or India, the two governments have notionally drawn the segments making up the LAC. I write "notionally" because the resulting line has not been mutually demarcated on the ground; on the contrary, in some sectors the militaries of the nation notionally claiming that area as part of the territory under their actual control have never set foot on it, or have done so only temporarily, or only recently."
^ ^a ^b Singh, Sushant (1 June 2020). "Line of Actual Control (LAC): Where it is located, and where India and China differ". The Indian Express.
^ Cite error: The named reference Hoffmann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Fisher et al. 137 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Line Of Actual Control: China And India Again Squabbling Over Disputed Himalayan Border". International Business Times. 3 May 2013.
^ "Why Chinese PLA troops target Yangtse, one of 25 contested areas". 14 December 2022.
^ Wheeler, Travis (2019). "Clarify and Respect the Line of Actual Control". Off Ramps from Confrontation in Southern Asia. Stimson Center. pp. 113–114.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] Clary, Christopher; Narang, Vipin (2 July 2020), "India'S Pangong Pickle: New Delhi's options after its clash with China", War on the Rocks: "By the end of the month, Indian and Chinese media had focused attention on several points along the Indian territory of Ladakh in the western sector of the disputed border, known as the Line of Actual Control. In this sector, that official name for the boundary is a misnomer: There is no agreement on where any "line" is, nor is there a clear mutual delineation of the territory under "actual control" of either party."

[2] Joshi, Manoj (2015), "The Media in the Making of Indian Foreign Policy", in David Malone; C. Raja Mohan; Srinath Raghavan (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Indian Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press, p. 274, ISBN 978-0-19-874353-8: "The entire length of the 4,056 km Sino-Indian border is disputed by China and exists today as a notional Line of Actual Control. This line is not marked on the ground, and the two countries do not share a common perception of where the line runs."

[The_Hindu_LAC-3] Ananth Krishnan, Line of Actual Control | India-China: the line of actual contest Archived 9 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of the LAC has never been agreed upon, and it has neither been delineated nor demarcated. There is no official map in the public domain that depicts the LAC. It can best be thought of as an idea, reflecting the territories that are, at present, under the control of each side, pending a resolution of the boundary dispute."

[4] Torri, India 2020 (2020), p. 384: "An unending source of friction and tension between China and India has been the undefined nature of the LAC... Connecting the points effectively held by either China or India, the two governments have notionally drawn the segments making up the LAC. I write "notionally" because the resulting line has not been mutually demarcated on the ground; on the contrary, in some sectors the militaries of the nation notionally claiming that area as part of the territory under their actual control have never set foot on it, or have done so only temporarily, or only recently."

[IE-5] Singh, Sushant (1 June 2020). "Line of Actual Control (LAC): Where it is located, and where India and China differ". The Indian Express.

[Hoffmann-6] Cite error: The named reference Hoffmann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Fisher_et_al._137-7] Cite error: The named reference Fisher et al. 137 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[8] "Line Of Actual Control: China And India Again Squabbling Over Disputed Himalayan Border". International Business Times. 3 May 2013.

[9] "Why Chinese PLA troops target Yangtse, one of 25 contested areas". 14 December 2022.

[11] Wheeler, Travis (2019). "Clarify and Respect the Line of Actual Control". Off Ramps from Confrontation in Southern Asia. Stimson Center. pp. 113–114.

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