Sumdorong Chu (; ) is a tributary of the

Nyamjang Chu Nyamjang Chu, or Nyashang Chu () is a cross-border perennial river that originates in the Shannan Prefecture of Tibet and flows into the Arunachal Pradesh state of India, joining the Tawang Chu river just before it enters Bhutan. The Nyamjang C ...

river that flows along the disputed Sino-Indian border between the

Tsona County Tsona County () or Cona County () is a county in Shannan prefecture in southern part of Tibet region of China. The county lies immediately to the north of the McMahon Line agreed as the mutual border between British India and Tibet in 1914. Chin ...

of Tibet and the

Tawang district Tawang district (Pron:/tɑ:ˈwæŋ or təˈwæŋ/) is the smallest of the 26 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeastern India. With a population of 49,977, it is the eighth least populous district in the country (out of ...

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

. It originates in the Tokpo Shiri Glacier, about 7–10 kilometres east of

, and flows down to the river. Its junction with Nyamjang Chu is to the north of that of

Namka Chu Namka Chu or Kejielang River () is a tributary of Nyamjang Chu that flows along the disputed border between India and China. The Indian side of the border is the Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh. The Tibetan side of the border is in Tsona ...

, another contested river valley, by about two kilometers. The Sumdorong Chu valley was the site of a standoff between India and China in 1986–1987 which, despite giving rise to the fears of another war, got deescalated successfully. Subsequently, India and China formulated agreements for managing future border tensions.

Location

Sumdorong Chu flows in a disputed border region between Tibet's

and Arunachal Pradesh's

. The dispute arises due to differing interpretations of where the

McMahon Line The McMahon Line is the boundary between Tibet and British India as agreed in the maps and notes exchanged by the respective plenipotentiaries on 24–25 March 1914 at Delhi, as part of the 1914 Simla Convention. The line delimited the resp ...

lies. China adheres to the 1914 map of the McMahon Line, which shows the border as a straight line at 27°44'30" N latitude till the range of "Menlakathong La" (roughly the modern

Bum La Pass The Bum La Pass is a border pass between China's Tsona County in Tibet and India's Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh. It is 37 km away from the town of Tawang in India's Tawang district and 43 km from the town of Tsona Dzong in C ...

). India believes that the true border lies along the highest watershed line in the region, which is to the north of the

and Sumdorong Chu streams.Bhuvan, Indian Geo-Platform of ISRO
search key: "Kenze Mane,ARUNACHAL PRADESH", retrieved 13 July 2020.

1987 standoff

In 1986–87, a military standoff took in the Sumdorong Chu Valley. It was initiated by China moving a company of troops to Wangdung, a pasture to the south of Sumdorong Chu which India held to be part of its territory. The Indian troops stood their ground on the neighbouring Lungro la ridge and both the sides moved a large number of troops to the border. The crisis was diffused after the visit of Indian Foreign Minister to Beijing in May 1987.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{refend China–India border Rivers of Arunachal Pradesh Rivers of Tibet Shannan, Tibet Tawang district Territorial disputes of China Territorial disputes of India Borders of Arunachal Pradesh

Location

1987 standoff

See also

References

Bibliography