Editing Line of Actual Control (section)

==Overview==
The term "line of actual control" is said to have been used by [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Chinese premier]] [[Zhou Enlai]] in a 1959 note to Indian prime minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]].<ref name=Hoffmann>
{{harvp|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis|1990|loc=p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_bjADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA80 80]}}
</ref> The boundary existed only as an informal cease-fire line between India and China after the [[Sino-Indian War|1962 Sino-Indian War]]. In 1993, India and China agreed to respect of the 'Line of Actual Control' in a bilateral agreement, without demarcating the line itself.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.stimson.org/research-pages/agreement-on-the-maintenance-of-peace-along-the-line-of-actual-control-in-the-india-china-border/ |title=Agreement On The Maintenance Of Peace Along The Line Of Actual Control In The India-China Border |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=stimson.org |publisher=[[The Stimson Center]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110627/http://www.stimson.org/research-pages/agreement-on-the-maintenance-of-peace-along-the-line-of-actual-control-in-the-india-china-border/ |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}
</ref>

In a letter dated 7 November 1959, Zhou proposed to Nehru that the armed forces of the two sides should withdraw 20 kilometres from the so-called [[McMahon Line]] in the east and "the line up to which each side exercises actual control in the west".{{sfnp|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis|1990|p=80}} Nehru rejected the proposal stating that there was complete disagreement between the two governments over the facts of possession:<ref name="Fisher et al. 137">{{harvp|Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground|1963|loc=p. [https://archive.org/details/himalayanbattleg0000unse/page/137/mode/1up 137]}}</ref>
{{blockquote|It is obvious that there is complete disagreement between the two Governments even about the facts of possession. An agreement about the observance of the ''status quo'' would, therefore, be meaningless as the facts concerning the ''status quo'' are themselves disputed.<ref name="Fisher et al. 137"/>}}
Scholar Stephen Hoffmann states that Nehru was determined not to grant legitimacy to a concept that had no historical validity nor represented the situation on the ground.{{sfnp|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis|1990|p=80}}
During the Sino-Indian War (1962), Nehru again refused to recognise the line of control: "There is no sense or meaning in the Chinese offer to withdraw twenty kilometers from what they call 'line of actual control'. What is this 'line of control'? Is this the line they have created by aggression since the beginning of September? Advancing forty or sixty kilometers by blatant military aggression and offering to withdraw twenty kilometers provided both sides do this is a deceptive device which can fool nobody."<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.centurychina.com/plaboard/uploads/1962war.htm |title=India's China War |last=Maxwell |first=Neville |year=1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822215146/http://www.centurychina.com/plaboard/uploads/1962war.htm |archive-date=22 August 2008 |url-status=dead }}
</ref>

Zhou responded that the LAC was "basically still the line of actual control as existed between the Chinese and Indian sides on 7 November 1959. To put it concretely, in the eastern sector it coincides in the main with the so-called McMahon Line, and in the western and middle sectors it coincides in the main with the traditional customary line which has consistently been pointed out by China."<ref>
{{cite web |author=J. C. K. |title=Chou's Latest Proposals |date=1962 |url=http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/10-3-106.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717201203/http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/10-3-106.shtml |archive-date=17 July 2011 |via=[[Blinken Open Society Archives]]}}
</ref>{{sfnp|Menon, Choices|2016|p=Chapter 1(section: The India-China Border)}}

The term "LAC" gained legal recognition in Sino-Indian agreements signed in 1993 and 1996. The 1996 agreement states, "No activities of either side shall overstep the line of actual control."<ref name="Sali">Sali, M.L., (2008) [https://books.google.com/books?id=TvXlFsxmJiMC India-China border dispute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028053921/https://books.google.com/books?id=TvXlFsxmJiMC |date=28 October 2022 }}, p. 185, {{ISBN|1-4343-6971-4}}.</ref> However, clause number&nbsp;6 of the 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas mentions, "The two sides agree that references to the line of actual control in this Agreement do not prejudice their respective positions on the boundary question".<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://peacemaker.un.org/chinaindia-borderagreement93 |title=Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas |date=7 September 1993 |publisher=United Nations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610110909/http://peacemaker.un.org/chinaindia-borderagreement93 |archive-date=10 June 2017 |url-status=live }}
</ref>

The Indian government claims that Chinese troops continue to illegally enter the area hundreds of times every year, including aerial sightings and intrusions.<ref>
[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/chinese-troops-had-dismantled-bunkers-on-indian-side-of-line-of-actual-control-in-august-2011/1/267661.html "Chinese Troops Had Dismantled Bunkers on Indian Side of LoAC in August 2011"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430202112/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/chinese-troops-had-dismantled-bunkers-on-indian-side-of-line-of-actual-control-in-august-2011/1/267661.html |date=30 April 2013}}. ''India Today''. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
</ref><ref name="BBC: planets">
{{cite news |title=India: Army 'mistook planets for spy drones' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-23455128 |date=25 July 2013 |publisher=BBC}}
</ref> In 2013, there was a three-week standoff ([[2013 Daulat Beg Oldi incident]]) between Indian and Chinese troops 30&nbsp;km southeast of [[Daulat Beg Oldi]]. It was resolved and both Chinese and Indian troops withdrew in exchange for an Indian agreement to destroy some military structures over 250&nbsp;km to the south near [[Chumar]] that the Chinese perceived as threatening.<ref>
Defense News. [http://www.defencenews.in/defence-news-internal.asp?get=new&id=1554 "India Destroyed Bunkers in Chumar to Resolve Ladakh Row"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724185744/http://defencenews.in/defence-news-internal.asp?get=new&id=1554 |date=24 July 2013 }}. ''Defense News''. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
</ref>

In October 2013, India and China signed a border defence cooperation agreement to ensure that patrolling along the LAC does not escalate into armed conflict.<ref>
Reuters. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-india-idUSBRE99M04J20131023 China, India sign deal aimed at soothing Himalayan tension] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924190154/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/23/us-china-india-idUSBRE99M04J20131023 |date=24 September 2015 }}
</ref>

In October 2024, India announced that it had reached an agreement over patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the border area, which would lead to disengagement and resolution of the long-running conflict that began in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sen |first=Amiti |date=2024-10-21 |title=LAC breakthrough: India, China agree on patrolling arrangements in border area |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/lac-breakthrough-india-china-agree-on-patrolling-arrangements-in-border-area/article68779840.ece |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=BusinessLine |language=en}}</ref>