The Chinese could not quote a single document confirming that the Kongka Pass constituted the boundary.... The thorough approach of the Indian side generally contrasted with an inconsistent and almost careless presentation by the Chinese officials.
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Lanak La (Tibetan :ལ་ནག་ལ) or Lanak Pass (Chinese :拉那克山口;Hindi :लानकदर्रा) is a mountain pass in the disputed Aksai Chin region,administered by China as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is claimed by India as its border pass.
Lanak La had been a well-established frontier point between Ladakh and Tibet,as confirmed by travellers from William Moorcroft in 1820 onwards. [2] Several travellers wrote in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the traditional boundary between India and Tibet was at Lanak La. They also state that the border was accepted by both sides. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
There are substantial Kashmiri Government records for the area of the Chang Chenmo valley up to the Lanak pass. In addition to the revenue records,1908 Ladakh Settlement Report,reports of several survey teams,the Jammu and Kashmir Game Preservation Act of 1951,there are Kashmiri documents relating to the construction and maintenance of trade routes,rest houses,and storehouses in the Chang Chenmo valley. All of them placed the entire valley up to the Lanak Pass within Ladakh. [11]
Chinese maps also recognised Lanak La as the boundary till 1951. [12]
In 1956,the People's Republic of China published what appears to be its first self-defined map,in which Kongka Pass was marked as the boundary.
There was no Chinese presence in the area of Lanak La till June 1958,when an Indian patrol party had gone up to it along the Changchenmo Valley. [13] [14] There was an Indian flag planted there until 1956. [15] [16]
In 1959,Chinese troops had infiltrated into the Changchenmo Valley. In October that year,as an Indian border patrol party was attempting to set up posts in the vicinity of the Kongka Pass, [17] [18] they were ambushed by Chinese troops,killing some of them and taking others prisoner. [18]
Some western scholars such as Larry Wortzel and Allen S. Whiting appear to endorse the Chinese claim that Kongka Pass was the "traditional" boundary of Tibet. [19] [20] Other scholars however point out the Chinese inconsistencies. [21] [22]
The Sino–Indian War,also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War,was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispute. Fighting occurred along India's border with China,in India's North-East Frontier Agency east of Bhutan,and in Aksai Chin west of Nepal.
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China partly in Hotan County,Hotan Prefecture,Xinjiang and partly in Rutog County,Ngari Prefecture,Tibet and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and China since 1959. It is claimed by India as part of its Leh District,Ladakh Union Territory.
The Line of Actual Control (LAC),in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute,is a notional demarcation line that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. 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. Subsequently,the term came to refer to the line formed after the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
Ladakh is an administrative territory of India that has been under its control since 1947. The geographical region of Ladakh union territory is the highest altitude plateau region in India,incorporating parts of the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges and the upper Indus River and valley.
The Sino–Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of two relatively large,and several smaller,separated pieces of territory between China and India. The territorial disputes between the two countries result from the historical consequences of colonialism in Asia and the lack of clear historical boundary demarcations.
Daulat Beg Oldi is a traditional campsite and current military base located in the midst of the Karakoram Range in northern Ladakh,India. It is on the historic trade route between Ladakh and the Tarim Basin,and is the last campsite before the Karakoram Pass. It is said to be named after Sultan Said Khan of the Yarkent Khanate,who died here on his return journey from an invasion of Ladakh and Kashmir. Chip Chap River,the main headwater of the Shyok River,flows just to the south. The Line of Actual Control with Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin is five miles to the east.
The Depsang Plains,a high-altitude gravelly plain in the northwest portion of the disputed Aksai Chin region of Kashmir,divided into Indian and Chinese administered portions by a Line of Actual Control. India controls the western portion of the plains as part of Ladakh,while the eastern portion is controlled by China and claimed by India. The Line of Control with Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan is 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of the Depsang Plains,with the Siachen Glacier in-between. Ladakh's traditional trade route to Central Asia passed through the Depsang Plains,with the Karakoram Pass lying directly to its north.
The Kongka Pass or Kongka La is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai Chin region. China claimed the location as its border in a 1956 map,and attacked an Indian patrol party in 1959 killing ten policemen and apprehending ten others. Known as the Kongka Pass incident,the event was a milestone in the escalation of the border dispute between the two countries.
The Khurnak Fort is a ruined fort on the northern shore of Pangong Lake,which spans eastern Ladakh in India and Rutog County in the Tibet region of China. The area of the Khurnak Fort is disputed by India and China,and has been under Chinese administration since 1958.
The Galwan River flows from the disputed Aksai Chin area administered by China to the Union Territory of Ladakh,India. It originates near the caravan campsite Samzungling on the eastern side of the Karakoram range and flows west to join the Shyok River. The point of confluence is 102 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi. Shyok River itself is a tributary of the Indus River,making Galwan a part of the Indus River system.
The Macartney–MacDonald Line was a boundary proposal by the British Raj for the border between the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and the Chinese-managed territories of Xinjiang and Tibet. Broadly,it represented the watershed between the Indus River system and the rivers draining into the Tarim basin. The line was proposed by British Indian Government to China in 1899 via its envoy in China,Sir Claude MacDonald. The Chinese Government never gave any response to the proposal. The Indian Government believed that,subsequently British India reverted to its traditional boundary,the Johnson–Ardagh Line. Independent scholars have not confirmed the claim.
Tangtse or Drangtse (Tibetan:བྲང་རྩེ,Wylie:brang rtse,THL:drang tsé) is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh,India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil. Traditionally,it was regarded as the border between the Nubra region to the north and the Pangong region to the south. It was a key halting place on the trade route between Turkestan and Tibet. It was also a site of wars between Ladakh and Tibet.
The Ardagh–Johnson Line is the northeastern boundary of Kashmir drawn by surveyor William Johnson and recommended by John Charles Ardagh as the official boundary of India. It abuts China's Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions.
Heweitan is the location of a Chinese border outpost in the region of Aksai Chin that is controlled by China but disputed by India. According to the Chinese Ministry of National Defense,it is the highest border outpost in the country.
Hot Springs is a campsite and the location of an Indian border outpost in the Chang Chenmo River valley in Ladakh near the disputed border with China. It is so named because there is a hot spring at this location. The Line of Actual Control near Kongka Pass is only 3 kilometres (2 mi) to the east.
Chang Chenmo River or Changchenmo River is a tributary of the Shyok River,part of the Indus River system. It is at the southern edge of the disputed Aksai Chin region and north of the Pangong Lake basin.
The Depsang Bulge or Burtsa Bulge is a 900-square-kilometre area of mountain terrain in the disputed Aksai Chin region,which was conceded to India by China in 1960,but has remained under Chinese occupation since the 1962 Sino-Indian War. The area is immediately to the south of the Depsang Plains and encloses the basin of the Burtsa Nala,a stream originating in the Aksai Chin region and flowing west to merge with the Depsang Nala near the village of Burtsa in Ladakh,eventually draining into the Shyok River. The area is perceived to be of strategic importance to both the countries,sandwiched by strategic roads linking border outposts. Since 2013,China has made attempts to push the Line of Actual Control further west into Indian territory,threatening India's strategic road.
Gogra (also referred to as Nala Junction) is a pasture and campsite in the Ladakh union territory of India,near the Line of Actual Control with China. It is located in the Kugrang River valley,a branch valley of Chang Chenmo Valley,where the Changlung River flows into Kugrang. During the times of the British Raj,Gogra was a halting spot for travellers to Central Asia via the 'Chang Chenmo route',who proceeded through the Changlung river valley and the Aksai Chin plateau.
Jianan Pass is a mountain pass in the eastern Karakoram Range near the Chang Chenmo Valley. The Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China runs through the pass dividing the Indian-administered Ladakh and Chinese-administered Aksai Chin. The pass lies on the watershed between Kugrang and Galwan river basins. The Changlung river basin is also immediately to the east of the pass. While China uses the name "Jianan Daban" for the pass,India refers to it as Patrol Point 15 (PP-15) for border security purposes. The term "Hot Springs" has also been used by Indian media through misapplication of terminology.
Tsogtsalu or Tsolu is a pasture and campsite in the Ladakh union territory of India,in the Chang Chenmo Valley close India's border with China. It is located at the confluence of the Rimdi Chu river that flows down from Marsemik La and the Chang Chenmo River. During the British Raj,this was a halting spot for travellers to Central Asia via the 'Chang Chenmo route',passing through Aksai Chin. After Indian independence,a border outpost was established here by a border police party headed by Captain Karam Singh. It continues to serve as a base for India's border forces.
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