
The western portion of the Line of Actual Control, which lies between Chinese-held and Indian-held territory in the
Himalayan region. The line was the focus of a brief war in 1962, when Indian and Chinese forces struggled to control land where, "not even a blade of grass grows," as Indian Prime Minister
Nehru put it.
The 'Line of Actual Control' (LAC) is the effective border between
India and
China. Chinese Prime Minister
Zhou Enlai used the phrase in a letter addressed to Indian Prime Minister
Nehru dated
October 24,
1959. In a letter dated
November 7, Zhou told Nehru that the LAC consisted of "the so-called
McMahon Line in the east and the line up to which each side exercises actual control in the west". During the
Sino-Indian War (1962), Nehru claimed not to know where the line was: "There is no sense or meaning in the Chinese offer to withdraw twenty kilometers from what they call 'line of actual control'. What is this 'line of control'? Is this the line they have created by aggression since the beginning of September? Advancing forty or sixty kilometers by blatant military aggression and offering to withdraw twenty kilometers provided both sides do this is a deceptive device which can fool nobody."
See also
★
McMahon Line
★
Aksai Chin
★
Arunachal Pradesh, called "South Tibet" by China.
★
Why China is playing hardball in Arunachal by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, May 13, 2007