China passes land border law amid standoff with India

Asserting that sovereignty and territorial integrity of China are “sacred and inviolable”, the country’s national legislature has adopted a new law on the protection and exploitation of the land border areas, which could have a bearing on Beijing’s border dispute with India.

Members of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) approved the law at the closing meeting of a legislative session on Saturday. The law, which becomes operational from January 1 next year, stipulates that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China are sacred and inviolable”, it said.

The state shall take measures to safeguard territorial integrity and land boundaries and guard against and combat any act that undermines territorial sovereignty and land boundaries, the report said.

The law also stipulates that the state shall take measures to strengthen border defence, support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas, improve public services and infrastructure in such areas, encourage and support people’s life and work there, and promote coordination between border defence and social, economic development in border areas, it said.

The state shall, following the principle 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, it said. The law states that the Chinese military “shall carry out border duties” including “organising drills” and “resolutely prevent, stop and combat invasion, encroachment, provocation and other acts”.

China in recent years has been strengthening the border infrastructure including the establishment of air, rail and road networks. It also launched a bullet train in Tibet which extends up to Nyingchi, the border town close to Arunachal Pradesh.

India and Bhutan are the two countries with which China is yet to finalise the border agreements, while Beijing resolved the boundary disputes with 12 other neighbours. Last week, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the developments along the LAC in eastern Ladakh have “seriously disturbed” the peace and tranquillity in border areas, and this has obviously had an impact on the broader relationship too.