Context: China’s new law on land borders has come into effect from the new year. While some feel India should worry about its border areas, others note that China’s actions have been aggressive even without it.

• It comes at a time when border standoff in eastern Ladakh remains unresolved and several places in Arunachal Pradesh have been renamed recently by China as part of its claim on the Indian state.

About the law

• It is called the law for the “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”.
• Under the law, “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China are sacred and inviolable”.
• The state needs to “take measures to safeguard territorial integrity and land boundaries and guard against and combat any act that undermines these”.
• The law encourages the development of villages for civilians in the border areas.
• The law also asks the state to follow the principles of “equality, mutual trust, and friendly consultation, handle land border related-affairs with neighbouring countries through negotiations to properly resolve disputes and longstanding border issues.
• The law lays down four conditions under which the state can impose emergency measures, including border shutdown.

Rationale behind the law

• This law reflects Beijing’s renewed concerns over the security of its land border. It also underscores the imperative for Beijing to exert greater control over its somewhat porous land border.
• The law “reflects Beijing’s thinly-veiled worries about the stability of its hinterland bordering Central Asia” as the withdrawal of the US forces and Taliban takeover “aggravated Beijing’s concerns that Afghanistan may become a hotbed for terrorism and extremism that could spread to Xinjiang”.
• Domestic politics too may have been a contributing factor, bolstering President Xi Jinping’s standing in the lead-up to the 20th Party Congress later this year when he would secure a third term.

Does it concern India?

• Although the law is not meant specifically for India, it is bound to have some impact. China and India share a disputed 3,488-km boundary, the third longest among China’s 22,457-km land boundaries with 14 countries, after the borders with Mongolia and Russia.

Formalise the Chinese Military’s Transgressions

• The broader aim of the land border law is to give legal cover and formalise the Chinese military’s transgressions across the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in 2020.

Fresh Impetus to Civilian Agencies

• The law calls for increased settlement of the civilian population and improved infrastructure along the border area.
• China has previously used the strategy of moving its “civil” population along the contested part of the LAC on the basis of which it claims rightful ownership.
• The new law might increase such instances and create further problems between the two countries.

Limiting the Water Flow

• There is also the possibility of limiting the water flow in the Brahmaputra or Yarlung Zangbo river which flows from China into India as the law calls for “measures to protect the stability of cross-border rivers and lakes”.
• China might cite this provision in case of hydropower projects which may cause ecological disaster in India and call it a lawful action on its part.

What impact can it have on India-China relations?

• Much depends on China’s actions, regardless of the new law.
• Some experts feel the new law will make China dig its heels in, on the ongoing standoff as well as for resolution of the larger boundary issue.
• Others feel the new law is only a tool China government will use if it wants, as its actions have been aggressive even before this law.
• Overall, the new law is the “latest attempt by China to unilaterally delineate and demarcate territorial boundaries with India and Bhutan”.

Concerns and challenges ahead

• The border standoff in eastern Ladakh remains unresolved.
• China has renamed several places in Arunachal Pradesh as part of its claim on the Indian state.
• The Chinese Embassy in Delhi has written to Indian MPs, including a minister, who had attended a dinner reception hosted by the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.

Road Ahead

• Restoring relations, as well as the status quo along the borders, will require mutual sensitivity and an adherence to past agreements that helped keep the peace, rather than needless provocations that expand an already long list of differences.