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Aksai Chin

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

Aksai Chin
China - India western border showing Aksai Chin
Traditional Chinese阿克賽欽
Simplified Chinese阿克赛钦
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinĀkèsàiqīn

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 northwestern region of the Tibetan Plateau north of the western Kunlun Mountains. It is entirely administered by the People's Republic of China as a part of Hotan County in the Hotan Prefecture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. It is, however, 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 although some Muslim Uyghurs may also live in the area because of the trade between Tibet and Xinjiang. 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.

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 claimed by China as South Tibet. 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 same as the western boundary of Aksai Chin).

The etymology of Aksai Chin is uncertain regarding the word "Chin". As a word of Turk's 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).

Geographically, Aksai Chin is part of the Tibetan Plateau. 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.

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

See also: Origins of the Sino-Indian border dispute

Aksai Chin was historically part of the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh until Ladakh was annexed from the rule of the local Namgyal dynasty by the Dogras and the princely state of Kashmir in the 19th century. However, the Chinese never accepted the British-negotiated boundary in the northeast area of the princely state of Kashmir.

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. Beginning in 1954, India had shown on its official Survey of India maps a definite boundary line awarding Aksai Chin to itself, despite no military or other occupation of the area. Before 1954, Indian maps had shown undefined and indefinite boundary lines in this area. 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.

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. 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 area occupied since 1947 by India 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 despite internet speculation to the contrary.

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.

Chinese terrain model

In June 2006, satellite imagery on the Google Earth service revealed a 1:500 scale terrain model 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. A visual side-by-side comparison shows a very detailed duplication of Aksai Chin in the camp. The 900 m × 700 m (3,000 ft × 2,300 ft) 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.

See also

References

  1. "Aksai Chin: China's disputed slice of Kashmir". CNN.com. 24 May 2002. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  2. Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Road Atlas (中国分省公路丛书：新疆维吾尔自治区), published by 星球地图出版社 Xingqiu Ditu Chubanshe, 2008, ISBN 978-7-80212-469-1. Map of Hotan Prefecture, pp. 18-19.
  4. http://www.kashmir-information.com/LegalDocs/SinoPak.html Sino-Pakistan Frontier Agreement
  5. ^ "Chinese X-file not so mysterious after all". Melbourne: The Age. 2006-07-23. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  6. Indian Express website
  7. Google Earth Community posting, 10 April 2007

External links

Territorial disputes in East, South, and Southeast Asia
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  • 1: Divided among multiple claimants
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