Since the 1962 war, China and India have continued to argue about the disputed area that was created by British Explorer McMahon in the 19th century.
Parts of the frontier are still in dispute, including a portion of Kashmir and the eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
The area in dispute now is Ladakh. For centuries, Ladakh was an independent kingdom but is now part of India. There are obvious cultural links with China.
In this area, no one knows where India ends and China begins. China and India still share the biggest stretch of disputed border in the world divided by Nepal and Bhutan from Arunachal Pradesh in the south to Kashmir in the north.
Al Jazerra English – Renewed Tension Over India-China Border
P. Chidambaram, India’s Interior Minister says that it is a disputed border area. He says that violations have taken place and are resolved by talking to each other (China with India).
India says the border violations were probably a mistake, but China says they never happened.
Diplomatic letters that Al Jazeera managed to get hold of show that both India and China are not telling the truth. Indian nomads wondered into Chinese occupied territory and were warned to leave or face the consequences.
The diplomatic letters also show that China does not accept that the area is disputed. Instead, China says it is their territory.
The Indian army had a heavy military presence on India’s side of the border. The Al Jazeera reporters could not visit the Chinese side.
Return to Part 3 of China and India at War in 1962 or start with Part 1
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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