Dividing lines: contours of India-China conflict

The chessboard of Sino-Indian relations, fraught with emotion, diplomatic strategy, military stand-offs and global ambitions, will perhaps be the most keenly watched during the 21st century; certain to send ripples across the world, influence markets and international policy. So where do the fault lines lie in this contest between the two Asian giants, poised on either side of the Himalayas? India and China, inheritors of two of the worlds most ancient civilisations have had aeons of neighbourly bonds, cemented by Buddhism and the bridge building missions of Fa Hien, Huen Tsang and Kotnis. No strife was witnessed till the fateful autumn of 1962, when the two countries fought a short and bitter war on the desolate Himalayan heights. Ever since, mutual suspicion, sporadic face-offs and a spirit of competitive nationalism have bedeviled relations between them, even as unsettled borders possess the ability to trigger further conflict.