This is the second longest border of India, next only to its border with Bangladesh.
- Five Indian states or UT, namely Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh touch the Indian boundary with China.
- The Sino-Indian border is generally divided into three sectors namely: (i) the Western sector, (ii) the Middle sector, and (iii) the Eastern sector.
The Western Sector
- The western sector boundary is largely the outcome of the British policy towards the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
- China claims the Aksai Chin, the Changmo valley, Pangong Tso and the Sponggar Tso area of north-east Ladakh.
The Middle Sector
- Two Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand touch this border.
- The districts of Uttarkashi, Chamoli, and Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand share an international border with China in the northwest. Pithoragarh also shares a border with Nepal.
- Himachal Pradesh shares a 260-kilometer border with China. The Kinnaur district shares 140 kilometers of the border, and the Lahaul and Spiti district shares 80 kilometers.
The Eastern Sector
The 1,140 km long boundary between India and China runs from the eastern limit of Bhutan to a point near Diphu pass (Talu Pass) at the trijunction of India, Tibet and Myanmar.
Diphu Pass is a mountain pass around the area of the disputed tri-point borders of India, China, and Myanmar.
It is Talu pass on the Burmese side, and Diphu pass on the Indian (Tibetan) side.
• This line is usually referred to as the Mc Mahon Line after Sir Henry Mc Mahon, then foreign secretary of British India, who negotiated the boundary agreement between Great Britain and Tibet at Shimla accord in 1913-14.
