Aksai Chin

Coordinates: 35°7′N 79°8′E / 35.117°N 79.133°E / 35.117; 79.133

Aksai Chin
India - China border showing Aksai Chin (अक्साई चिन)
Traditional Chinese	阿克賽欽
Simplified Chinese	阿克赛钦
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Ākèsàiqīn

Aksai Chin, also Aksayqin, Akesaiqin or Akesai Qin (Hindi: अक्साई चिन , Urdu: اکسائی چن, Simplified Chinese: 阿克赛钦), is a disputed region located in the northeastern region of Ladakh.^[1] It is administered by the People's Republic of China as a part of Hotan County in the Hotan Prefecture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. It is claimed by India as a part of its state of Jammu and Kashmir. What little evidence exists suggests that the few true locals in Aksai Chin have Buddhist beliefs^{[citation needed]} although some Muslim Uyghurs may also live in the area because of the trade between Tibet and Xinjiang.^{[citation needed]} India claims the area as a part of the Ladakh district of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both sides in the dispute have agreed to respect the Line of Actual Control in 1996.

Geography

Aksai Chin is one of the two main border dispute areas between India and the People's Republic of China, the other dispute being the one over Arunachal Pradesh, which is administered by India and parts of it claimed by China after the 1950 incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China.^{[citation needed]} India claims Aksai Chin as the eastern-most part of the Jammu and Kashmir state. The line that separates Indian-administered areas of Jammu and Kashmir from Aksai Chin is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and is concurrent with the Chinese Aksai Chin claim line.

The etymology of Aksai Chin is uncertain regarding the word "Chin". As a word of Turk origin, aksai literally means "white brook" but whether the word Chin refers to Chinese or pass is disputed. The area is largely a vast high-altitude desert including some salt lakes from 4,800 metres (15,700 ft) to 5,500 metres (18,000 ft) above sea level. It covers an area of 37,250 square kilometres (14,380 sq mi).

The Chinese spelling of the region's name, 阿克赛钦, is composed of Chinese characters chosen for their phonetic values,^[2] irrespective of their meaning.^{[citation needed]}

Topographically, Aksai Chin is a high altitude desert. In the southwest, the Karakoram range form the de facto border (Line of Actual Control) between Aksai Chin and Indian-controlled Kashmir. Glaciated peaks in the mid portion of this boundary reach heights of 6,950 metres (22,800 ft).

In the north, the Kunlun Range separates Aksai Chin from the Tarim Basin, where the rest of Hotan County is situated. According to a recent detailed Chinese map, no roads cross the Kunlun Range within Hotan Prefecture, and only one track does so, over the Hindutash Pass.^[3]

The northern part of Aksai Chin is referred to as the Soda Plain and contains Aksai Chin's largest river, the Karakosh, The river, which receives meltwater from a number of glaciers, crosses the Kunlun farther northwest, in Pishan County and enters the Tarim Basin, where it serves as one of the main sources of water for Karakax and Hotan Counties.

The eastern part of the region contains several small endorheic basins. The largest of them is that of the Aksai Chin Lake, which is fed by the river of the same name.

The region is almost uninhabited, has no permanent settlements, and receives little precipitation as the Himalayas and the Karakoram block the rains from the Indian monsoon.

History

Aksai Chin was historically part of the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh^{[citation needed]} until Ladakh was annexed from the rule of the local Namgyal dynasty by the Dogras and became a part of the princely state of Kashmir in 1834. However in 1962, the Chinese invaded Aksai Chin, thereby violating the British-negotiated boundary in the northeast area of the princely state of Kashmir. Due to large parts of Aksai Chin being uninhabitable because of harsh weather and terrain, the Chinese presence went undetected for some time.^[4]

One of the main causes of the Sino-Indian War of 1962 was India's discovery of a road that the Chinese had built through Aksai Chin, shown as Chinese on official Chinese maps. India had shown on its official Survey of India maps a definite boundary line with Aksai Chin on its side, as historically this area was a part of Jammu and Kashmir. China National Highway 219, connecting Tibet and Xinjiang, passes through no towns in Aksai Chin, only some military posts and truck stops, such as the very small Tianshuihai (el. 4,850 m (15,910 ft)) post. The road adds to the strategic importance of the area. After the Sino-Indian War, Pakistan, angered by postwar American and European military aid to India, recognized China's claim to Aksai Chin, pending an international settlement for Kashmir. In case of an international agreement that gave Aksai Chin to Pakistan, Pakistan pledged to allow the Chinese presence on Aksai Chin to continue.^[5]

The 1963 Sino-Pakistani border agreement, which awarded to the People's Republic of China the Trans-Karakoram Tract (still claimed by India as a northernmost extension to Kashmir), and any subsequent Sino-Pakistani agreements had no implications on the status of Aksai Chin. The Trans-Karakoram Tract and Aksai Chin do not border each other.^{[original research?]} The fact that the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary line terminated at the Karakoram Pass, 9 km west of the westernmost tip of Aksai Chin, indicated only that the two states saw the futility in drawing the line any further east in the indian area since 1947 and the impossibility of being able to physically demarcate the line on the ground as they did with the section west of the Karakoram Pass.

The text of the 1963 accord makes no reference to Aksai Chin^{[original research?]} despite internet speculation to the contrary.^[6]

Strategic Importance

China National Highway 219 runs through Aksai Chin connecting Lazi and Xinjiang in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Despite this region being nearly uninhabitable and having no resources, it remains strategically important for China as it connects Tibet and Xinjiang. Construction started in 1951 and the road was completed in 1957. The construction of this highway was one of the triggers for the Sino-Indian War of 1962.^{[citation needed]}

Chinese terrain model

In June 2006, satellite imagery on the Google Earth service revealed a 1:500^[7] scale terrain model [2] of eastern Aksai Chin and adjacent Tibet, built near the town of Huangyangtan, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Yinchuan, the capital of the autonomous region of Ningxia in China.^[8] A visual side-by-side comparison shows a very detailed duplication of Aksai Chin in the camp.^[9] The 900 × 700 m (3,000 × 2,300 ft)^{[citation needed]} model was surrounded by a substantial facility, with rows of red-roofed buildings, scores of olive-colored trucks and a large compound with elevated lookout posts and a large communications tower. Such terrain models are known to be used in military training and simulation, although usually on a much smaller scale.

Local authorities in Ningxia point out that their model of Aksai Chin is part of a tank training ground, built in 1998 or 1999.^[7]

See also

• South Tibet

References

External links

• China and Kashmir, by Jabin T. Jacob, published in The Future of Kashmir, special issue of ACDIS Swords and Ploughshares, Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security, University of Illinois, winter 2007-8.
• China, India, and the fruits of Nehru's folly by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, 6 June 2007
• Facing the truth Pakistan has solved its border problem with China, but India is caught in a prolonged dispute.
• The Great China-India Game An informative history of the always-ambiguous China-India border in Aksai Chin.
• Conflict in Kashmir: Selected Internet Resources by the Library, University of California, Berkeley, USA; University of California, Berkeley Library Bibliographies and Web-Bibliographies list
• Satellite image of large scale terrain model of Aksai Chin
• Diagram explaining the situation
• Photos from Google Earth
• Landscape photos of Aksai Chin by a cyclist
• Why China is playing hardball in Arunachal by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, 13 May 2007