US Senate resolution for underlining backing India on McMahon Line: What is the McMahon Line?

Source: The post is based on the article “US Senate resolution for underlining backing India on McMahon Line: What is the McMahon Line?” published in NDTV on 16th March 2023

What is the News?

Two United States Senators have introduced a resolution in the upper chamber of Congress reiterating that the US recognises the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and India in Arunachal Pradesh.

The resolution reaffirms India’s well-known and established position that Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls ‘South Tibet’, is an integral part of India.

What is the McMahon Line?

The McMahon Line serves as the de facto boundary between China and India in the Eastern Sector. 

It specifically represents the boundary between Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet, from Bhutan in the west to Myanmar in the east.

China has historically disputed the boundary and claims the state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).

What are the circumstances where McMahon Line was drawn?

The McMahon Line was drawn during the Simla Convention of 1914, officially described as the Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet. 

The convention defines the boundary between Tibet and China proper and that between Tibet and British India (with the latter coming to be known as the McMahon Line).

What has the status of the McMahon line been since 1914?

There were disputes regarding the McMahon line from the very beginning after the communists took power in 1949. They pulled China out of all international agreements and the so-called “unequal treaties” that had been imposed on it during its “century of humiliation”, and demanded a renegotiation of all its borders.

During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, China was able to quickly overpower India and make deep inroads into Indian territory across the McMahon Line. However, its forces retreated to pre-war positions after the unilateral ceasefire was announced.