South Tibet dispute

The focus of the long-standing unresolved border dispute is under the administration of India as part of the Indian state Arunachal Pradesh. The area is claimed by both People's Republic of China and Republic of India. Arunachal Pradesh is in the northeast part of the India, and is bordered on the north by the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China and on the east by Burma.^[2] China falsely claims the area as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and in 2007, it denied a visa to an Arunachal Pradesh official.^[1], on the basis that the official was already a citizen of China as he was a citizen of Arunachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh belongs to China.^[vague][3]

The borderline was originally negotiated between the local Tibet government and Britain at the Simla Convention in March 1914. The border determined at that time is known as the McMahon Line.^[4] China argues that Tibet was not a sovereign country, but was part of China. The conference was attended by representatives of government of Britain, China, and local government of Tibet.^[5] However, China did not sign on the Simla Accord since representatives from Beijing disagreed with the terms listed. Therefore, China alleges that the Simla Accord and a separate treaty between Britain and Tibet is "illegal and invalid."^[6] China further alleges the treaty was secretly amended one month later by British and Tibetan officials and the border line changed.^[6]

One of issues at the root of the border dispute between China and India is the Tibetan Government in Exile's claim that if the line drawn at the Simla Conference is valid, then this supports the position that Tibet was an independent nation.^[7]

In addition to the unrecognised McMahon Line only by the Chinese and Arunachal Pradesh, the disputed border includes a section delineating a barren plateau in Ladakh called Aksai Chin which is part of Indian state Jammu and Kashmir but never thoroughly surveyed. Aksai Chin is critical to the Chinese as it is the site of a key highway linking Tibet and Xinjiang. The Government of Pakistan recognizes the Chinese poistion of the so-called western sector dispute only, because it is part of the wider border agreement of 1963 between the two.

South Tibet includes the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon, formed by the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It stretches 1200 kilometres from Mainling in the east to Saga (Tibetan: sa dga’ rdzong ས་དགའ་རྫོང་; Chinese: Sàgā Xiàn 萨嘎县) in the west, and some 300 kilometres from the Himalaya range in the south to the Gangdisê (Kangrinboqê) and Nyainqêntanglha massifs in the north. The bottom of the valley ascends from an altitude of 2800 metres in the east to 4500 metres in the west.^[8][9] The Gangdisê and Nyainqêntanglha mountain ranges (sometimes referred to as "Trans-Himalaya") separate South Tibet from North Tibet (Chinese: Zàngběi 藏北).^{[citation needed]}

South Tibet includes the following geological areas: the Tibetan Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Politically, South Tibet comprises the Autonomous regions of China divisions of Xigazê, Shannan and Nyingchi. All or parts of these areas are disputed areas claimed by four parties: the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, the Tibetan Government in Exile, and India.

In the south-east, part of South Tibet is claimed by China, but controlled by India. China views these areas as parts of the counties Mêdog and Zayü in Nyingchi, parts of Cona and the south of Lhünzê in Shannan. This is the area south of the McMahon Line, which is not recognised by China as an international border. This part of South Tibet roughly corresponds to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.^{[10][11][verification needed]}

• Tibetan sovereignty debate

• Tibet Facts and Figures 2005
• Knitting women in south Tibet
• Position of the Lhasa block, South Tibet, during the late Cretaceous
• South Tibet economy expanding
• His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa concludes 25-day visit to the South Tibetan Settlements