A Conflict in Three Parts

With limited roadways to the border at its disposal, India has to position its troops near the Line of Actual Control with China.

(ANNIRUDHA MOOKERJEE/AFP/Getty Images)

The mountainous terrain along much of the Line of Actual Control between China and India would make an inhospitable battleground.

For more than two months, Chinese and Indian forces have stood toe to toe on the Doklam Plateau. The standoff is just the latest manifestation of a border dispute that began long before Chinese soldiers tried to extend a road through the contested region June 16 — and one that extends well beyond the area in question. Along the thousands of kilometers of sinuous border between China and India lie three main points of contention: Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The regions are the most likely sites of a military confrontation between China and India, and each presents its own set of strategic considerations. A (Relatively) Hospitable Battleground Control over Aksai Chin has long been a subject of fierce debate between China and India.