Apr. 16 – Aksai Chin is an ethnic Tibetan, Buddhist, yet pro-Muslim region sandwiched between China’s Xinjiang Province, Northeast Pakistan and India’s Jammu and Kashmir State, and is geo-physically part of the Tibetan plateau. The area historically was part of the Kingdom of Ladakh, until it was annexed by the Kingdom of Kashmir in the 19th century, and then subsequently absorbed into British India in 1904. Although signed off by both Britain and the then Tibetan government, China at the time did not agree to any demarcation and did not attend any discussions.

Although the area is disputed, both China and India have agreed to observe a “Line of Actual Control” which extends along the Aksayqin River and effectively separates Kashmir from Aksai Chin. The region has been under Chinese administration since 1962 when the two countries fought a short, intense border war. China’s claim to the territory closely follows that of the LAC.

Border agreements between Pakistan and China reached in 1963 recognize the area as Chinese. While Pakistan has never made a claim on the region, it does have claims on Jammu and Kashmir.

The region is important to China as it contains a supply road that links Tibet with Xinjiang across Aksai Chin. While the region is largely unpopulated – being high altitude desert mostly over 5,000 meters – it is strategically important, with the road now significantly upgraded and listed as Chinese National Highway 219.

Aksai Chin is currently administered from Kashgar and contains little other than a series of military outposts and a handful of non-permanent trading posts.

Aksai Chin Fast Facts:
Population: minimal, nomadic
Area: 42,685 sq km
Largest city: no permanent settlements
Current GDP: zero
Government website

Further reading:
China / India Border Disputes: Ladakh, India’s Little Tibet
China / India Border Disputes: Arunachal Pradesh, India or South Tibet?
Why China and India Disagree