China has rejected proposals to demarcate LAC since 1846

New Delhi, June 15: The Chinese since August last year have argued that India's decision to abrogate Article 370 challenged its sovereign interests and also violated bilateral agreements on maintaining peace in the border area.

In Ladakh there are two spots along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that are disputed. One is at the Trig Heights in the north-eastern edge of Ladakh white the other is Demchok.

While Beijing has questioned the chawed status of the boundary, the fact remains that there is none. This is largely because the Chinese have since 1846 rejected every proposal to demarcate the Line of Actual Control.

The first attempt to have a boundary was made in 1846, when British took over Jammu and Kashmir in the first Anglo-Sikh war. Another attempt was made a year later, which was again followed up in the years 1865, 1873, 1899 and 1914. However all these attempts were rejected by China.

This was also noted in a book called Ladakh Physical, Statistical and Geographical, written by Major Alexander Cunningham, who led the British attempt in 1847 to demarcate the boundary. He noted in his book that the settlement of this boundary between Ladakh and Tibet was of some importance.

It may be recalled that the Dogra Army led by General Zorawar Singh had in 1834 captured Ladakh, In the Sino-Sikh war of 1841, the Qing Empire invaded Ladakh. However the Sino-Tibetan Army was defeated, following which a letter of agreement was signed.

Since then several attempts have been made to demarcate the LAC. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had suggested the demarcation of the LAC. The Chinese however said that the representatives should resolve it.

In 1947, the Chinese entered Tibet and in 1950, India declared that the McMahon Line in Arunachal Pradesh is its boundary. In 1954, India claimed Aksai Chin as part of its northern border. In 1958, India learnt that the Chinese had built a road over the plateau of Aksai Chin.

In 1960 China, expanded its claim on another 5,100 sq km of the territory in easter Ladakh. This led to the Chinese seeking for a status quo, following which India kept Arunachal, while China kept Aksai Chin, northeast edge of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1962, the India China war was fought and a year later a pact was signed to maintain peace at the LAC. Since 1962 not a single bullet has been fired in Ladakh.