Differing perceptions or areas of differing perceptions was a theory to explain why border conflicts have arisen between China and India, since the
Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement, 1993
The Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement (BPTA or MPTA; formally the ''Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India–China Border Areas'') is an agreement signed by China and India in Sep ...
has been signed. It maintains that the two sides have different perception of where the
Line of Actual Control
The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment o ...
(LAC) between the territories of the two countries lies. Further, the Chinese have their own understanding of where the Indians perceive their LAC to be, and vice versa.
For many decades India and China carried forward the differing perceptions theory.
India has called this as one of the causes for the loss of Indian territory to
China's salami slicing. The existence of areas of differing perceptions resulted in "overlapping areas of influence, extending from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers" and was "one of the reasons for Chinese to enhance their transgressions in Ladakh".
Overview
Written in the
Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement, 1993
The Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement (BPTA or MPTA; formally the ''Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India–China Border Areas'') is an agreement signed by China and India in Sep ...
: "When necessary, the two sides shall jointly check and determine the segments of the line of actual control where they have different views as to its alignment".
This phrase, "differences on the alignment", also finds mention in the
1996 agreement. Further the 1996 agreement uses the phrase "different perceptions":
In the backdrop of the
2020–2021 China–India skirmishes
Beginning on 5 May 2020, People's Liberation Army, Chinese and Indian Army, Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs, and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and ...
, Defence Minister of India
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as t ...
, used the phrase in a Lok Sabha statement, "...both (India, China) have different perceptions of LAC"; in the Rajya Sabha, "there is no common perception of the entire LAC", "there are some areas where the Chinese and Indian perceptions of LAC overlap".
A Chinese foreign ministry statement in September 2020 stated that "China-India border LAC is very clear, that is the LAC on November 7, 1959. China announced it in the 1950s". In 2003
Asaphila as an area of differing perception was called out in the Parliament.
Confidence building measures, clarification mechanisms, peace and tranquility building measures have been agreed upon by both countries to deal with the tensions arising from the areas of differing perceptions.
According to commentators, the number of areas of differing perceptions range from 12 to 18 locations
to no perceptional differences.
Notes
References
{{China–India relations
China–India border