Lesson from an unsettled boundary

April 27, 2013 Manoj Joshi

The reality is that the Line of Actual Control between India and China is notional and has not been put down on any mutually agreed map. In 1950, the Survey of India issued a map of India showing the political divisions of the new republic. While the border with Pakistan was defined as it is now, including the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir area, the borders with China were depicted differently. In the east, the McMahon Line was shown as the border, except in its eastern extremity, the Tirap subdivision, where the border was shown as “undefined.” In the Central sector of what is now Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and the eastern part of Jammu & Kashmir, including Aksai Chin, the boundary was depicted merely by a colour wash and denoted as “boundary undefined.”.....To Read More.....

My Take - There is more depth to this story than what appears, however the point regarding the communist government having to make accommodations to their people is an important point.  They are more and more considered an illegitimate government by the ethnic Han, who make up most of China, and they are despised by the other ethnic groups, including the Tibetans.  Starting a little ruckus with another country has been their shtick in the past for more than one reason, such as diverting attention away from their corrupt incompetent rule, but they also like giving someone a smack once in a while as an object lesson to others.  However, the last time they attacked India the India government was totally unprepared and humiliated.  That has changed.  China is not as stable as is presented in the main stream news.  The government, there the country is on the verge of major difficulties in many areas, including the disaffection of their citizenry.