Explained | Arunachal Pradesh Foundation Day: What is China’s so-called claim over the Indian state?

Every year, on February 20, the northeastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram celebrate their foundation day. In 1987, the Indian Government as per the 53rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution a year prior declared the extreme northern part of the country the 24th state of Union India. The state is known as the ‘land of the rising sun’ (not to be confused with Japan) or after the meaning of its name ‘land of the dawn-lit mountains’ is also home to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), arguably one of the heavily contested borders. 

What is Arunachal Pradesh Foundation Day?

After India’s independence in 1947, the state now known as Arunachal Pradesh was called North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and administered by the state of Assam. However, it was not until after 25 years that the erstwhile NEFA became a Union Territory and named Arunachal Pradesh and on February 20, 1987, was declared a full-fledged state. Since that year, the easternmost state of India has celebrated its foundation day and this year will mark its 37th year of Statehood Day. 

How is it being celebrated this year?

The state’s foundation day is celebrated with events, exhibitions and programs to highlight the unique cultural diversity. This year, Indian President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Arunachal Pradesh, on Monday, for a two-day visit to the northeastern state and addressed the 37th Statehood Day celebrations. She also attended a civic reception hosted in her honour by the State Government at Itanagar. 

 

During her maiden visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the president is also expected to inaugurate and launch several projects during the statehood day celebrations including the foundation stone of the common directorate for the state human rights commission, Lokayukta as well as the state food commission. On Tuesday, Murmu is scheduled to address the special session of the Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly at Itanagar.

India and China border 

India shares a 3488 km border with China which is divided into three sectors, the eastern sector (along the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim), the western sector (Ladakh), and the middle sector (Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh). However, Beijing only considers the LAC to be around 2,000 km. The ill-defined border along these sectors has caused many disputes over the years between the two countries. 

After the most recent skirmish between the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a military source told the Indian Express, “In certain areas along the LAC in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh there are areas of differing perception, where both sides patrol the area up to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006.” 

Similarly, in an opinion piece written for WION, Major General SB Asthana also said that the clash which took place on December 9 is “neither the first nor the last one” but “shows increasing aggressiveness and violent attempt to enforce their own perception of LAC by both sides.” Notably, the western and eastern sectors of the LAC are more heavily contested than the middle sector. 

Origins of the border dispute in Arunachal

Arunachal Pradesh is strategically significant for India, as the state borders Bhutan, China, and Myanmar and plays a crucial role in the country’s defence and security. Even after India gained independence, the borders which were internationally agreed upon, over the years, including the arbitrary one drawn by British officials based primarily on the highest watershed principle remained the same. However, when China’s communist party came into power in 1949, they pulled out of all international agreements. 

Beijing believes that these “unequal treaties” had been imposed on it during its “century of humiliation” and called for re-negotiation of all the borders with India. In the eastern sector, the border was drawn along the McMahon Line which was named after Sir Henry McMahon, foreign secretary of British India. In 1914 the 890 km border between erstwhile British India and Tibet was decided at the Simla Convention between China, Tibet and Great Britain.

However, China has disputed the border which was drawn at the highest watershed principle based on which the previously undefined borders between erstwhile British India and Tibet included Tawang. Reports suggest that the border was never officially demarcated as the British colonial rulers did not see the need to do so in such a remote area. There had been several exchanges between then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding the issue. 

Notably, in 1949-50 China invaded Tibet and Beijing argued that when the agreement came into effect it was signed by the Tibetan government which was not a sovereign state at the time and consequently, claims parts of Arunachal Pradesh, including Tawang, as a part of Tibet. In 1962, this led to an all-out war between India and China which was predominantly fought in Aksai Chin, a region which is the western end of the Himalayas with Arunachal Pradesh in the east. 

China’s claim on Arunachal Pradesh

China has previously claimed some 90,000 sq km which is virtually the entire Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and is approximately a little over 8,000 sq km, to begin with as a part of its country. Beijing has also repeatedly produced maps which show Arunachal Pradesh as part of China and refer to the state as “Zangnan” in the Chinese language. 

Additionally, it also tried to assign Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh in 2017 and again in 2021, which was seen as a bid to unilaterally change the status quo. However, India has since dismissed these claims, “Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be, an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact,” said the Ministry of External Affairs, in late 2021 after 15 Chinese names were assigned to regions in Arunachal Pradesh.  

US senators introduce bipartisan resolution in Congress for Arunachal Pradesh

Last week, two United States Senators, Democrat Jeff Merkley from Oregon and Republican Bill Hagerty from Tennessee introduced a Senate resolution reaffirming Washington’s recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India. The lawmakers also condemned China’s military aggression to change the status quo along the LAC. 

Additionally, the resolution came months after the most recent clash between the Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang region. In a statement, Merkley also said that the resolution reaffirmed that the US recognised the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and the Indian state Arunachal Pradesh. 

“This resolution makes clear that the United States views the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Republic of India—not the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—and commits the US to deepening support and assistance to the region, alongside like-minded international partners and donors”, the Democratic senator, added. 

The senators also condemned Beijing’s use of “construction of villages in contested areas, publication of maps with Mandarin-language names for cities and feature in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and expansion of PRC territorial claims in Bhutan”, to change the status quo along the LAC. On the other hand, the US lauded New Delhi’s government to take steps for defending itself from Chinese aggression. 

Clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along the LAC

While the region had more or less been peaceful since the war while the dispute has been handled by the countries through diplomatic talks. However, the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in 2020 years after another incident in 1975, along the LAC have led to a rise in tensions between the two sides. 

According to reports, in 1975 four Indian Army personnel were killed after an ambush by the Chinese military in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tulung La region.

According to reports, there was a five-hour confrontation between some 600 military personnel from both sides who engaged in hand-to-hand combat, in June. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed and while China claims that only four of their soldiers died, the death toll is speculated to be over 40 PLA troops, as per media reports. Furthermore, Indian and Chinese troops later that year also accused each other of firing warning shots during a confrontation. 

Last year, in December the two sides again engaged in a clash this time at the Yangtse, Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. The incident took place on December 9 following which Beijing alleged that Indian troops “illegally” crossed the LAC while the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in his statement to the parliament said China attempted to “unilaterally change the status quo”.

(With inputs from agencies) 

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