Dispute between India and China

The McMahon line, which India recognises as its boundary, is not accepted by the Chinese. The line was drawn by Sir Henry McMahon, the foreign secretary of the British Indian government who was acting as the chief negotiator in the Shimla conference between Britain, China and Tibet.

The Chinese delegate, Ivan Chen, stated he was not authorised to discuss Tibet's border with India. The McMahon line was negotiated between the British and Tibetans, without Chinese participation and when opposed by the Chinese it was declared as a bilateral accord between India and Tibet. The land south of Tibet was declared as British India. This made the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh a part of India. Historically, this area was known as south Tibet.

In 1950, Tibet lost its status as an independent territory and India took control of the area. In response to China's claim, India argues that China had no sovereignty over Tibet at the time when the McMahon line was drawn. Also historically it has had no claim to the area that is Arunchal Pradesh. It began to raise the claim after it annexed Tibet. Historically, the Ahom rajas and Debrajas of Tawang have had a tributary system with the tribes of Arunachal.

The Tawang monastery that has links with Lhasa exercised a spiritual and not a temporal influence. The tribes of Arunachal were integrated more to the south as the high passes of 14,000 and 18,000 feet restricted contact with Tibet. There was just about 60-75 km of "border" areas where regular contact was possible. So, though some accounts see Tibet "ceding" territories to India at the Shimla conference, even ancient travellers like Hieun Tsang speak of the influence of local kingdoms. Also before China's annexation of Tibet, the latter's relations with India were by and large peaceful.