File talk:Aksai Chin Sino-Indian border map.svg

Line reached by China

First of all, thanks to Hogweard for creating this file.

It seems a change would be in order with regards to the red dashed line "China's claim line of 1960, which it reached in 1962". You can see that it differs slightly from the continuous line separating the cream-coloured Indian-controlled region from Aksai Chin (blue-gray region). This continous line has been reproduced from the pink-gray line in the png version of the file. The pink-gray line in the png file was based on the line shown separating Indian and Chinese-controlled areas on Google Maps at the time of creating the file. It appears that the continuous line in the svg file also represents the line separating the Indian and Chinese-controlled areas. So, I think that the red dashed line and the continuous line separating the cream and blue-gray areas should be one line.

The map could be enhanced by showing the distinction between the furthest 'intrusion' line reached by Chinese forces during the war, and the current LAC, if this information is available.

Pinging Kautilya3, a user who is knowledgeable about maps of Kashmir for his comments.

Cheers, The Discoverer (talk) 15:04, 23 August 2020 (UTC)

I would be glad to fix it if someone can give me a better version - it was a straight copy from the PNG version but I have no personal knowledge of the detail. Of course of someone who does know the geography better wishes to adjust it and upload a corrected version, that would be fine. Hogweard (talk) 15:16, 23 August 2020 (UTC)

Hi Hogweard, to put my above remarks simply, the red dashed line in the svg file, and the continuous line that it criss-crosses, both represent approximately the same thing. So we need to get rid of one of them. Would it be possible for you to make this change?

In addition, there is another thing that can be improved in the image: The 'Sinkiang-Tibet Road 1957' is shown as a double line in the legend, but as a single line in the map.

Regards, The Discoverer (talk) 19:41, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

I think that's fixed now. There were more duplicated lines and areas when I started looking at it. Hogweard (talk) 13:03, 28 August 2020 (UTC)

Thank you Hogweard. The image seems to be error-free now. :)

There are a few other possible improvements:

• If a scale could be added, that would be great. The png version has a scale in the upper left corner.
• There is a dashed line between the labels 'Shamal Lungpa' and 'Kongka La' that represents the boundary between the Chinese regions of Xinjiang and Tibet. This line is incomplete in the image and actually continues northward as you can see in File:China India western border 88.jpg. It is also not described in the legend. There was a discussion regarding this. Do you think that the missing portion of the line should be added and the line included in the legend, or that the line should be removed altogether?

Regards, The Discoverer (talk) 17:18, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for making the changes, Hogweard. The Discoverer (talk) 04:40, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

Red dots and the red line

There is no legend describing the red dots. But I presume these are posts established by the Chinese in 1959.

The red line is supposed to connect them. But it is not doing so.

So I don't understand the red line. -- Kautilya3 (talk) 20:51, 6 September 2020 (UTC)

The red circles are simply markers for the locations of the places labelled. They are not posts established by the Chinese and have no relation to the red line. The Discoverer (talk) 04:37, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

Error: Divergences Between the Indian Claim Line and the Xinjiang-Tibet Boundary

@Hogweard and The Discoverer: Hey, I wanted to sincerely thank you for working on this sensitive but crucial topic for the Wiki community (and really, for the benefit of the whole world honestly!). There's one slight issue with the map that I would like to bring up. On Google Maps and Baidu Maps, the boundary between Xinjiang (East Turkistan) and Tibet (XTB) is nearly identical. Baidu Maps ignores the Indian claim, but Google Maps shows the Indian claim line (ICL). What you can see when you type in "Aksai Chin" on Google Maps is that the XTB and the ICL cross over each other about five times. In the current version of our map here, the XTB splits off the southern part of the disputed region and then merges with the ICL until the XTB and ICL diverge in the north. I have not been following the discussion, but I think this information may be relevant. --Geographyinitiative (talk) 19:08, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

Geographyinitiative, do the XTB and ICL in File:China India western border 88.jpg match what you see in Google maps? The Discoverer (talk) 20:38, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

Although the XTB line in the 1988 CIA map is definitely similar to that we see on Google Maps and Baidu Maps, there are clear differences. Geographyinitiative (talk) 20:43, 8 September 2020 (UTC) (modified)

Hotan County and Rutog County are neglected topics on Wikipedia. The county line between these two little understood areas, which is the part of the XTB we are discussing, is a little understood line. (The general area is part of a vast howling wilderness region called the Changtang.) I don't know if the 1988 CIA map of the XTB is better than the Google/Baidu map of the XTB, but I can confirm that the 1988 CIA map you just presented has a clearly different (though indeed somewhat similiar) XTB line. The CIA, Google and Baidu versions of the XTB line are similar and are significantly different from our implied portayl in this map image of the XTB line as mostly following the ICL. Geographyinitiative (talk) 20:51, 8 September 2020 (UTC) (modified)

@Hogweard and The Discoverer: To summarize, I think that the 1988 CIA map version of the XTB and the Google Maps/Baidu Maps version of the XTB are similar enough that we can conclude that the XTB-ICL merge in our map here on Wikimedia Commons is in error. I would guess that the Google/Baidu version of the XTB is up-to-date, and that the 1988 CIA map version of the XTB is accurate to a point, but was not meant to be perfect (it's just a paper-based map used for general reference purposes) and that map's version of the XTB doesn't reflect changes or clarifications from the past thirty years. --Geographyinitiative (talk) 12:23, 9 September 2020 (UTC) (modified)

@Geographyinitiative: , I have updated the Xinjiang-Tibet boundary as per Google Maps (which is nearly the same as Baidu).

@Hogweard: , could you kindly add this line to the legend? I'm afraid that I'll mess things up if I try to do that. The Discoverer (talk) 13:50, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

I have added a line the legend: "China's Tibet-Xinjiang boundary line". Hogweard (talk) 20:13, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for all your work, Hogweard. The Discoverer (talk) 04:33, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

Modification

User:Hogweard This map is unrealistic when it comes to "patrolling points" you have created for India. There is simply no evidence for it.

You can see how scholarly sources have depicted the Aksai Chin situation map:[1][2]

They don't point out "patrolling points" by India. I would urge you to remove "points to which Indian patrols had been going up to 1958" from the image. Thanks. Capitals00 (talk) 03:31, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

The map is an SVG adaptation of File:Aksai Chin Sino-Indian border map.png. The points that you refer to are confirmed on a map in a CIA briefing paper.

If you object to the points, the appropriate thing would be for you to produce your own adaptation of the map. Hogweard (talk) 13:21, 4 November 2023 (UTC)