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100-542: The Depsang Bulge or Burtsa Bulge is a 900-square-kilometre area of mountain terrain in the disputed Aksai Chin region, which was conceded to India by China in 1960, but has remained under Chinese occupation since the 1962 Sino-Indian War . The area is immediately to the south of the Depsang Plains and encloses the basin of the Burtsa Nala (or Tiannan River , Chinese : 天南河 ), a stream originating in

200-727: A "bulge" (Map 2). Numerous tributary streams from the surrounding hills drain into the Burtsa Nala within the Depsang Bulge. Of particular note are two streams, both joining the main nala near a location called "Y-junction". The northern stream, Raki Nala , flows down from the Depsang Plains and hence, connects the Depsang Bulge to the Depsang Plains. The southern stream connects it to the Jeong Nala valley. Indian troops have traditionally used these two valleys to patrol

300-695: A cost of $ 476 million. Along with it, numerous improvements to the border infrastructure in Aksai Chin also became visible, increasing the pressure on the LAC. An existing road to the Heweitan military base (roughly at the head of the Jeong Nala) was improved and extended to join the Tianwendian Highway in the north. This new strategic road, labelled " Tiankong Highway ", ran immediately next to

400-514: A covert operation only when it is determined, after careful consideration, that the prospective results (a) are essential to national security or national interests; (b) are of such value as significantly to outweigh the risks, both immediate and long-term; and (c) cannot be effectively obtained in any other way.” (see Memorandum From the Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (Hughes) to

500-930: A line along the Karakoram range further south. However, the maps were not updated and still showed the Johnson Line. From 1917 to 1933, the Postal Atlas of China , published by the Government of China in Peking had shown the boundary in Aksai Chin as per the Johnson line, which runs along the Kunlun Mountains . The Peking University Atlas , published in 1925, also put the Aksai Chin in India. When British officials learned of Soviet officials surveying

600-506: A memo to Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Foy D. Kohler dated February 15, 1967. The memo identified several weaknesses in the oversight and management of the CIA’s “5412 activities” (which refers to an NSC Directive 5412/2 of December 28, 1955 authorizing the CIA to conduct foreign covert actions ). While concluding the procedures of the 303 Committee “are not too bad except for

700-572: A much smaller scale. Local authorities in Ningxia claim that their model of Aksai Chin is part of a tank training ground, built in 1998 or 1999. In August 2017, Indian and Chinese forces near Pangong Tso threw rocks at each other. On 11 September 2019, People's Liberation Army troops confronted Indian troops on the northern bank of Pangong Lake . A continued face-off in the 2020 China–India skirmishes of May and June 2020 between Indian and Chinese troops near Pangong Tso Lake culminated in

800-478: A slower pace. The air strip at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO), at the northern perimeter of the Depsang Plains, was reactivated in 2008, after a gap of 43 years. The Chinese immediately objected to this action. India also commissioned a road link to DBO in 2001, scheduled to be completed by 2012. The initial road did not meet the all-weather requirement, and it had to be rebuilt on an improved alignment later, but several sections of it were available for winter use by 2013. On

900-463: A superiority of 10 to 1 in numbers, and eliminated most of them. The remaining posts were recalled to Burtsa and other rear locations. The Chinese forces advanced to their 1960 claim line in most locations. However, at Depsang Bulge, the Chinese troops advanced further than the 1960 claim line, "straightening out the bulge". (Map 2, orange line, and Map 3, yellow line) Thus, a third line emerged, from

1000-553: A three-year joint investigation by the FBI and the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service . INR was the only US intelligence agency to dissent from the consensus that Kyiv would fall in a few days during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . Although it agreed with other agencies in overestimating Russian military capability, unlike the others INR used growing Ukrainian willingness to fight in opinion surveys to predict that

1100-572: A variety of interagency groups focused on intelligence matters. INR/IPC/IC serves as the focal point for ensuring policy review of sensitive counterintelligence and law enforcement activities. INR/IPC/IC provides operational support to Department of State activities involving the issuance/revocation of visas issued to persons believed to be a threat to U.S. national security. INR/IPC/IC coordinates other agency approval for Department of State use of intelligence in demarches and other discussions with foreign government officials. INR/IPC/IC coordinates within

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1200-493: A violent clash on 16 June 2020, with at least 20 deaths from the Indian side and no official reported deaths from the Chinese side. In 2021, Chinese state media reported 4 Chinese deaths. Both sides claimed provocation from the other. Aksai Chin is one of the two large disputed border areas between India and China. India claims Aksai Chin as the easternmost part of the union territory of Ladakh . China claims that Aksai Chin

1300-421: A wide variety of working groups and committees on behalf of the Department of State, and INR analysts participate in the drafting of IC assessments and analyses. The assistant secretary for intelligence and research provides intelligence support for the secretary of state, other department principals and policy bureaus and directs the department's program of research and analysis. The assistant secretary serves as

1400-406: Is Chinese territory, go back". The location of the standoff was described as being 19 km inside Indian territory. Years later, the location was stated as the so-called "bottleneck" in the Burtsa Nala valley, where the rocky formation of the valley prohibits vehicular movement. The "bottleneck" is also close to a point called "Y-junction", where a branch valley emanates to the southeast, allowing

1500-677: Is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research reporting directly to the Secretary of State and serves as the secretary's primary intelligence advisor. In March 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Brett Holmgren to lead INR. INR has played a key role in the US intelligence community. In 1967, the INR played an important role in an internal governmental review of covert operations oversight. In early 1967, in

1600-585: Is immediately to the south of the Depsang Plains . The "bulge", in theoretical Indian territory (had China's 1960 claim line been implemented), encloses the basin of the Burtsa Nala ("Tiannan River" to the Chinese), one of five rivers that drain into the Shyok River after rising in Aksai Chin. Near the campsite of Burtsa , a halting place on the traditional caravan route, the Depsang Nala flowing from

1700-655: Is part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region . The line that separates Indian-administered areas of Ladakh from Aksai Chin is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and is concurrent with the Chinese Aksai Chin claim line. The Akasy region is sparely populated region with few settlements such as Heweitan , Khurnak Fort , Tianshuihai and Dahongliutan and Kangxiwar which lays north of it, with

1800-958: The Depsang Plains form the de facto border (Line of Actual Control) between Aksai Chin and Indian-controlled Kashmir. In the north, the Kunlun Range separates Aksai Chin from the Tarim Basin , where the rest of Hotan County is situated. According to a recent detailed Chinese map, no roads cross the Kunlun Range within Hotan Prefecture, and only one track does so, over the Hindutash Pass. Aksai Chin area has number of endorheic basins with many salt or soda lakes . The major salt lakes are Surigh Yilganing Kol , Tso Tang , Aksai Chin Lake , Hongshan Lake , etc. Much of

1900-690: The Indus River watershed while leaving the Tarim River watershed in Chinese control, and Chinese control of this tract would present a further obstacle to Russian advance in Central Asia. The British presented this line, known as the Macartney–MacDonald Line , to the Chinese in 1899 in a note by Sir Claude MacDonald . The Qing government did not respond to the note. According to some commentators, China believed that this had been

2000-567: The Jammu and Kashmir region including Ladakh to the British, who then installed Gulab Singh as the Maharaja under their suzerainty. The British appointed a boundary commission headed by Alexander Cunningham to determine the boundaries of the state. Chinese and Tibetan officials were invited to jointly demarcate the border, but they did not show any interest. The British boundary commissioners fixed

2100-602: The Karakash River and Yarkand River watersheds. From there, it runs east along the Kunlun Mountains, before turning southwest through the Aksai Chin salt flats, through the Karakoram Mountains, and then to Panggong Lake . On 1 July 1954, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote a memo directing that the maps of India be revised to show definite boundaries on all frontiers. Up to this point,

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2200-499: The Kunlun Mountains . In 1895, the British envoy to Kashgar told the Chinese Taotai that Aksai Chin was a "loose name for an ill-defined, elevated tableland", part of which lay in Indian and part in Chinese territory. The current meaning of the term is the area under dispute between India and China, having evolved in repeated usage since Indian independence in 1947. Because of its 5,000-metre (16,000 ft) elevation,

2300-889: The Office of Intelligence Research . INR was reorganized into its current form in 1947. In addition to supporting the policies and initiatives of the State Department, INR contributes to the President's Daily Briefings (PDB) and serves as the federal government's primary source of foreign public opinion research and analysis. INR is primarily analytical and does not engage in counterintelligence or espionage , instead utilizing intelligence collected by other agencies, Foreign Service reports and open-source materials, such as news media and academic publications. INR reviews and publishes nearly two million reports and produces about 3,500 intelligence assessments annually. The INR

2400-608: The Sino-Indian War of 1962. The Indian position, as stated by Prime Minister Nehru, was that the Aksai Chin was "part of the Ladakh region of India for centuries" and that this northern border was a "firm and definite one which was not open to discussion with anybody". The Chinese premier Zhou Enlai argued that the western border had never been delimited, that the Macartney-MacDonald Line, which left

2500-626: The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence issued a scathing report on prewar intelligence on Iraq . INR was spared the poor performance review that most other intelligence agencies received, and the panel specifically endorsed the dissent that INR inserted into the National Intelligence Estimate of 2002. The bureau was being studied as a positive example as Congress debated how to best reform U.S. intelligence agencies in

2600-468: The Yarkandi Uyghur dialect . The word "Chin" was taken to mean "China" by some Chinese, Western, and Indian sources. At least one source takes it to mean "pass". Other sources omit "Chin" in their interpretations. Van Driem states that there is no Uyghur word resembling "chin" for China. Amin's Aksai Chin was not a defined region, stretching indefinitely east into Tibet south of

2700-503: The 1950s, India collected salt from various lakes in Aksai Chin to study the economic feasibility of salt mining operations in the area. By the end of the 1950s, in addition to having constructed a road, numerous PLA Ground Force outposts were constructed in a few locations, including at Tianwendian , Kongka Pass , Heweitan and Tianshuihai . The road was later upgraded to the China National Highway 219 . In

2800-663: The 1960s commissioned in 1969 by then-INR director Thomas L. Hughes . The INR written analysis was a 596 page study examining US decisions made during the Vietnam War. Some notable information within the review included pointing out the INR relied on circumstansial evidence to blame the North Vietnamese for maliciously attacking the US during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident . The review showed that INR had repeatedly warned of

2900-399: The Aksai Chin for Sheng Shih-tsai , warlord of Xinjiang in 1940–1941, they again advocated the Johnson Line. At this point the British had still made no attempts to establish outposts or control over the Aksai Chin, nor was the issue ever discussed with the governments of China or Tibet, and the boundary remained undemarcated at India's independence. After Jammu and Kashmir acceded to

3000-511: The Aksai Chin region and flowing west to merge with the Depsang Nala near the village of Burtsa in Ladakh, eventually draining into the Shyok River . The area is perceived to be of strategic importance to both the countries, sandwiched by strategic roads linking border outposts. Since 2013 , China has made attempts to push the Line of Actual Control further west into Indian territory, threatening India's strategic road. The Depsang Bulge

3100-527: The Aksai Chin within Chinese borders was the only line ever proposed to a Chinese government, and that the Aksai Chin was already under Chinese jurisdiction, and that negotiations should take into account the status quo. In June 2006, satellite imagery on the Google Earth service revealed a 1:500 scale terrain model of eastern Aksai Chin and adjacent Tibet , built near the town of Huangyangtan , about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Yinchuan ,

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3200-672: The British attempted to promote a caravan route via the western side of Aksai Chin as an alternative to the difficult and tariffed Karakoram Pass . The route, referred to as the Chang Chenmo line after the starting point in Chang Chenmo River valley, was discussed in the House of Commons in 1874. In addition of being longer and higher elevation than Karakoram Pass, it also goes through the desolate desert of Aksai Chin. By 1890s, traders had mostly given up on this route. In

3300-602: The British took the Macdonald line to be the boundary, but in 1911, the Xinhai Revolution resulted in the collapse of central power in China, and by the end of World War I , the British officially used the Johnson Line. However they took no steps to establish outposts or assert actual control on the ground. In 1927, the line was adjusted again as the government of British India abandoned the Johnson line in favor of

3400-587: The Chinese had reconquered Xinjiang , and by 1890 they already had Shahidulla before the issue was decided. By 1892, China had erected boundary markers at Karakoram Pass . In 1897 a British military officer, Sir John Ardagh , proposed a boundary line along the crest of the Kun Lun Mountains north of the Yarkand River . At that time, Britain was concerned about the danger of Russian expansion as China weakened, and Ardagh argued that his line

3500-475: The Chinese troops, the Indian patrols were apparently asked to not go beyond the bottleneck point. Thus they were unable to reach Patrol Point 10 in the Raki Nala valley and related Patrol Points 11, 11A, 12, and 13 along their perceived Line of Actual Control. Indian government officials have claimed that the Chinese obstruction at the bottleneck has been going on since the 2017 Doklam standoff , and hence, it

3600-662: The Department of State implementation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and agreements of foreign ambassadors assigned to the United States. INR/IPC/IC manages the department’s special compartmentalized intelligence (SCI) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) document review process. INR/IPC/IC serves as the office of record for Intelligence Community (IC) damage assessments and Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports of intelligence and law enforcement oversight reports. INR/IPC/IC works with

3700-495: The Depsang Bulge area is over 19 km long east to west and about 5 km wide, giving an area of roughly 900 km. Burtsa is at an elevation of 4800 metres, the source of Burtsa Nala at 5300 metres, and the surrounding hills rise up to 5500–5600 metres. Just beyond the hills to the south is another nala called the Jeong Nala ("Jiwan Nala" to the Indian military, "Nacho Chu" or "Nao Chu" on older maps), which does not have

3800-467: The Depsang Bulge in the east. (Map 4) It branched off a loop road that was constructed in the Depsang Plains in 1999–2000 in an area called "Trig Heights", close to the LAC (or, in the Indian view, across their perceived LAC). From the loop road, an access road through the Raki Nala valley to Burtsa Nala was also constructed around 2010. By 2013, the Chinese had the ability to ply vehicles in the Raki Nala river bed. (Map 5) Coupled with these constructions,

3900-489: The Depsang Nala with the Burtsa Nala. The Indian depiction of the ceasefire line, as shown in Maps 2 and 3, is at a considerable distance from the confluence. Indeed, the Indian base at the confluence, Burtsa, is one of the locations where defences continued to be organised even as the clashes subsided. The Indian version of the ceasefire line was supported by the non-aligned countries in their Colombo proposals, (Map 3) as well as

4000-615: The Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Kohler) ). Hughes discussed these recommendations with Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Assistant AG Nick Katzenbach on May 5, 1967. However, NSC 5412 was not revised during the Johnson administration. In May 2004, the National Security Archive released a highly classified review of INR's written analysis of the Vietnam War during

4100-758: The Executive Secretariat for the State Intelligence Policy Board. The Office of Intelligence Coordination (INR/IPC/IC) is the principal point of contact for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). INR/IPC/IC supports State Department participation on the National Counterintelligence Policy Board (NACIPB) and other national counterintelligence executive-managed activities. INR/IPC/IC also supports Department participation in

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4200-683: The Geographer INR is descended from the Research and Analysis Branch (R&A) of the World War II -era Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which was tasked with identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the Axis powers . Widely recognized as the most valuable component of the OSS, upon its dissolution in 1945, R&A assets and personnel were transferred to the State Department, forming

4300-491: The Geographer. The Office of Analysis for Terrorism, Narcotics, and Crime (INR/AN/TNC) produces analysis of issues involving trends in international terrorism, narcotics, and crime, particularly as they affect U.S. security and diplomatic efforts. INR/AN/TNC works closely with major Intelligence Community (IC) analytic centers concerned with counterterrorism, narcotics, and international crime issues. INR/AN/TNC represents

4400-673: The Governor General of India Lord Elgin . This boundary placed the Lingzi Tang plains, which are south of the Laktsang range, in India, and Aksai Chin proper, which is north of the Laktsang range, in China. This border, along the Karakoram Mountains , was proposed and supported by British officials for a number of reasons. The Karakoram Mountains formed a natural boundary, which would set the British borders up to

4500-444: The Indian Army also reported a steep rise in incursions by the Chinese PLA into Indian territory: 50 incursions during 2005, 70 in 2009 in the Trig Heights area, and 30 incursions in 2009 in the Depsang Bulge area. Given that the Indians regard the entire Depsang Bulge as Indian territory, all the constructions in the area were "Chinese intrusions". The Indians were also improving their border infrastructure during this period, albeit at

4600-451: The Indian patrols to reach other points on the LAC. The Indian border troops set up their own tented camp 300 metres away as per the agreed protocol. India's China Study Group met and recommended stern measures to signal India's displeasure. However, prime minister Manmohan Singh decided that it should be treated as a "localised problem". The local commanders of both the sides met at the Chushul–Moldo Border Personnel Meeting point . While

4700-418: The Indian side asked the Chinese to withdraw to original positions as per the 1976 border patrolling agreement, the Chinese produced a map they described as the " LAC of 1959 ". According to the map, the entire Depsang Bulge belonged to China. Indian ambassador in China S. Jaishankar picked up the matter with Deng Zhen Hua, the Director-General of boundary affairs in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and asked for

4800-691: The Intelligence Community (IC) understand the information and analysis needs of senior foreign policy decision makers. INR's portfolio is as broad and diverse as the secretary's global agenda. As a result, INR employs experts who understand current policy concerns as well as the historical context to provide input to policymakers and timely guidance to the IC. Officially, INR intelligence is aimed at ensuring that diplomats, policymakers, and other government officials have access to focused intelligence products that will help advance U.S. foreign policy, namely to build democracies, promote economic stability, provide humanitarian assistance, and combat terrorism, disease, and

4900-409: The Johnson Line through the Aksai Chin region claimed by India. Aksai Chin was easily accessible to the Chinese, but was more difficult for the Indians on the other side of the Karakorams to reach. The Indians did not learn of the existence of the road until 1957, which was confirmed when the road was shown in Chinese maps published in 1958. The construction of this highway was one of the triggers for

5000-429: The Maharaja of Kashmir, who then claimed the 18,000 square kilometres contained within, and by some accounts territory further north as far as the Sanju Pass in the Kun Lun Mountains . The Maharajah of Kashmir constructed a fort at Shahidulla (modern-day Xaidulla ), and had troops stationed there for some years to protect caravans. Eventually, most sources placed Shahidulla and the upper Karakash River firmly within

5100-646: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on a variety of intelligence issues, including foreign intelligence relationships. INR/IPC/I coordinates collection and analysis of biographic information on foreign leaders. The Office of Intelligence Resources (INR/IPC/IRE) coordinates actions within the department, with other Federal agencies, and with U.S. missions abroad on U.S. technical intelligence programs, operations, policies, and relations with foreign technical services. INR/IPC/IRE provides support and expertise to INR analysts and Department policymakers on tasking technical intelligence systems and coordinating

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5200-498: The Pacific. Responsible for all European countries, including the Baltic States, but excluding other states that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. Responsible for Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. Responsible for the Near East, including North Africa and South Asia. Responsible for Russia and Eurasia. The Office of Economic Analysis (INR/AN/EC) produces all-source intelligence analysis and assessments on international economic issues, including: INR/AN/EC serves as

5300-424: The Roger Channel, the department’s telegraphic communications channel used for intelligence matters―a joint responsibility with the INR Watch. INR/IPC/I acts as the bureau’s focal point for liaison with Congress. INR/IPC/I organizes the INR segment of the Department’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center’s Ambassadorial Seminar and coordinates Intelligence Community briefings for ambassadors. INR/IPC/I works with

5400-409: The US Government (Map 2). After the 1962 war, both India and China were preoccupied with other issues and essentially left the border alone for several decades. By 1976, the Chinese preoccupation with the Tibetan rebels had ended and India also acquired much better information about the border. The Indian Cabinet established a China Study Group to recommend "patrolling limits, rules of engagement, and

5500-499: The Y-junction. These patrols reached Patrol Point 10 upstream along the Raki Nala, and made a circuit through Patrol Points 11, 11A, 12, and 13, returning to the Y-junction. During the 2020–2022 China–India skirmishes , it was reported that a standoff was occurring again at the "bottleneck" or "Y-junction". As the Indian patrols attempted to go beyond the bottleneck by foot, Chinese troops were reportedly coming up in vehicles and blocking their passage. In order to avoid confrontation with

5600-450: The accepted boundary. The line is named after Henry McMahon , foreign secretary of British India and the chief British negotiator of the conference at Simla. The bilateral agreement between Tibet and Britain was signed by McMahon on behalf of the British government and Lonchen Shatra on behalf of the Tibetan government. Both the Johnson-Ardagh and the Macartney-MacDonald lines were used on British maps of India. Until at least 1908,

5700-484: The activities of the United Nations and other international organizations; and the impact of climate on national security. In consultation with country directors, INR/AN/GGI submits official non-US geographic names used by U.S. Government agencies to the US Board on Geographic Names . INR/AN/GGI advises the department and other federal agencies on geographic and cartographic matters. INR/AN/GGI produces maps, graphics, and Geographic Information System (GIS) products for

5800-586: The assistant secretary. The Office of the Executive Director (INR/EX) advises the assistant secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary on, and provides executive management and direction of: INR/EX liaises with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on a variety of intelligence policy issues in the areas of: INR/EX serves as the INR coordinator for internal controls management, Department inspections and audits, and other reporting requirements. The geographic offices are: Responsible for sub-Saharan Africa. Responsible for East Asia and

5900-405: The assistant secretary. The PDAS has the authority to act on the assistant secretary’s behalf in his or her absence. The PDAS provides overall management for the bureau. The PDAS, in consultation with the assistant secretary, plans and supervises the substantive work of the bureau. The PDAS represents the bureau in department and interagency groups. The PDAS supervises six offices, as directed by

6000-439: The boundary in the Aksai Chin sector, based on the Johnson Line, had been described as "undemarcated." Despite this region being nearly uninhabitable and having no resources, it remains strategically important for China as it connects Tibet and Xinjiang. During the 1950s, the People's Republic of China built a 1,200 km (750 mi) road connecting Xinjiang and western Tibet , of which 179 km (112 mi) ran south of

6100-587: The bureau lead on sanctions issues. INR/AN/EC provides support to the National Intelligence Council Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The Office of the Geographer and Global Issues (INR/AN/GGI) produces intelligence analysis and assessments on humanitarian crises and multilateral interventions; international migration and refugee flows; the environment and sustainable development; tensions over natural resource scarcity and energy issues; boundary disputes and territorial claims; human rights abuses and war crimes; democracy promotion and elections;

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6200-693: The bureau on the Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism. The Office of Analysis for Strategic, Proliferation, and Military Issues (INR/AN/SPM) produces analysis on a wide range of strategic, arms control, proliferation, and political-military issues, including: INR/AN/SPM drafts intelligence assessments and articles for the President’s Daily Brief, National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs), and other Intelligence Community (IC) products. INR/AN/SPM collaborates with analysts in other IC agencies, U.S. Government experts, and outside experts on intelligence topics and countries. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence Policy and Coordination (INR/IPC) coordinates

6300-522: The capital of the autonomous region of Ningxia in China. A visual side-by-side comparison shows a very detailed duplication of Aksai Chin in the camp. The 900 m × 700 m (3,000 ft × 2,300 ft) model was surrounded by a substantial facility, with rows of red-roofed buildings, scores of olive-coloured trucks and a large compound with elevated lookout posts and a large communications tower. Such terrain models are known to be used in military training and simulation, although usually on

6400-450: The ceasefire line of 1962. More detailed maps of the ceasefire line show a smaller bulge in Indian territory at the mouth of the valley. The US Office of the Geographer 's "Large-Scale International Boundaries" (LSIB) dataset shows this boundary (red line in Map 4). A fourth line was contained in a map attached to a letter written by the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai to heads of certain non-aligned countries (or "African and Asian nations") in

6500-500: The country would strongly resist the invasion. The primary mission of the INR is to provide all-source intelligence to support U.S. diplomats. This is achieved through all-source analysis, intelligence policy and coordination, polling and media analysis, and conferences and workshops to integrate outside expertise. As the nexus of intelligence and foreign policy, it plays a key role in ensuring that intelligence activities are consistent with U.S. foreign policy, and that other components of

6600-519: The department and other customers, and reviews maps and charts produced by other agencies. INR/AN/GGI serves as the U.S. Government’s Executive Agent for information sharing with the international criminal tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), and with the war crimes Special Court for Justine Rose. INR/AN/GGI serves as the U.S. Government focal point for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating unclassified information related to humanitarian crises. The Director of INR/AN/GGI serves as

6700-545: The department's participation in intelligence activities to include those related to counterintelligence and counterterrorism. INR/IPC serves as the focal point for liaison among the department, chiefs of mission (COMs), and the Intelligence Community for matters relating to requirements, collection, evaluation and the management of intelligence activities. INR/IPC develops Department positions on intelligence and counterintelligence policy issues that directly affect foreign policy and concerns of U.S. missions abroad. INR/IPC acts as

6800-413: The desolation of Aksai Chin meant that it had no human importance. For military campaigns, the region held great importance, as it was on the only route from the Tarim Basin to Tibet that was passable all year round. Ladakh was conquered in 1842 by the armies of Raja Gulab Singh (Dogra) under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire . The British defeat of the Sikhs in 1846 resulted in the transfer of

6900-510: The easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and China since 1959. It is claimed by India as part of its Leh District , Ladakh Union Territory . Aksai Chin was first mentioned by Muhammad Amin, the Yarkandi guide of the Schlagintweit brothers , who were contracted in 1854 by the British East India Company to explore Central Asia. Amin explained its meaning as "the great white sand desert". Linguist George van Driem states that

7000-462: The focal point for resolving problems between the department and other agencies on intelligence policy matters. INR/IPC supervises three offices, as directed by the assistant secretary. The Office of Intelligence Operations (INR/IPC/I) coordinates sensitive civilian and military intelligence operations and programs. INR/IPC/I supports the Secretary and chiefs of mission in the exercise of their intelligence oversight responsibilities. INR/IPC/I manages

7100-483: The incursion to be rolled back. Around the same time, the Indian troops in the Chumar sector in southern Ladakh constructed a tin shed at their patrol point close to the LAC. Director-General Deng asked for the structure to be removed. At the border personnel meeting on 23 April, the Chinese officers repeated the demand and also asked for the removal of "bunkers" at Fukche (also in southern Ladakh). The Indian government in Delhi sent additional diplomatic signals to force

7200-476: The intelligence community, the assistant secretary delegates to the Determination Authority, the administration of access eligibility for sensitive compartmented information (SCI) under Director of Central Intelligence Directive (DCID) 6/4 “Personnel Security Standards.” The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research (INR/PDAS) serves as the senior deputy and advisor to

7300-587: The latter being the forward headquarters of the Xinjiang Military Command during the 1962 Sino-Indian War . Aksai Chin covers an area of approximately 38,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi). The area is largely a vast high-altitude desert with a low point (on the Karakash River ) at about 4,300 m (14,100 ft) above sea level. In the southwest, mountains up to 7,000 m (23,000 ft) extending southeast from

7400-400: The midst of the 1962 war. A more detailed version of the Chinese map was in fact used by the non-aligned nations in arriving at their Colombo proposals. (Map 3) However the Chinese apparently continue to use their version of the map, which they misleadingly call the " LAC of 1959 ". It is apparently not drawn to scale. But they interpret the ceasefire line here running very near the confluence of

7500-982: The modern day, there are a few businesses along the highway serving motorists. In the 2010s, geological surveys were conducted in the Western Kunlun region, which Aksai Chin is part of. Huoshaoyun , a major lead-zinc deposit, and numerous smaller deposits were discovered in the region. Huoshaoyun is a mountain located in Aksai Chin near the Tibetan border. The mining development for Huoshaoyun started in 2017. China National Highway 219 runs through Aksai Chin connecting Tibet ( Ngari Prefecture ) and Xinjiang ( Hotan Prefecture ). In July 2022, Ministry of Transport of China published updated China National Highway Network Plan that includes China National Highway 695 which will go from Lhünzê Town , Lhünzê County , Tibet to Mazar Township , Yining County , Xinjiang travelling through Aksai Chin. Office of

7600-671: The name intended by Amin was Aqsai Chöl ( Uyghur : ﺋﺎﻗﺴﺎﻱ چۆل ; Cyrillic : ақсай чөл ) which could mean "white ravine desert" or "white coomb desert". The word chöl for desert seems to have been corrupted in English transliteration into "chin". Some sources have interpreted Aksai to have the Uyghur meaning "white stone desert", including several British colonial, modern Western, Chinese, and Indian sources. Some modern sources interpret it to mean "white brook" instead. At least one source interprets Aksai to mean "eastern" in

7700-527: The newly independent India in October 1947, the government of India used the Johnson Line as the basis for its official boundary in the west, which included the Aksai Chin. From the Karakoram Pass (which is not under dispute), the Indian claim line extends northeast of the Karakoram Mountains through the salt flats of the Aksai Chin, to set a boundary at the Kunlun Mountains , and incorporating part of

7800-565: The night of 15 April 2013, three weeks before a scheduled visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India, a platoon of Chinese troops intruded into Indian territory and erected a tented post. The Indian border police spotted an advance patrol of theirs the next morning at a distance of 600 metres from the Indian post. Aerial reconnaissance detected the tented post on the Raki Nala, on the site of an old Indian post. It had 19 Chinese soldiers (later mentioned as 40), including five officers, two dogs, and three SUVs . The Chinese held placards reading "this

7900-596: The north joins the Burtsa Nala. The combined river flows west to join the Murgo Nala near Murgo and eventually drains into the Shyok River. All the streams bring snow-melt water, reaching the highest volume in the afternoons, and diminishing to practically nothing at other times. The Depsang Bulge contains the basin of the upper course of the Burtsa Nala, to the east of Burtsa and the traditional travel route. Based on various Indian news reports, it would appear that

8000-786: The northern part of Aksai Chin is referred to as the Soda Plains, located near Aksai Chin's largest river, the Karakash, which receives meltwater from a number of glaciers, crosses the Kunlun farther northwest, in Pishan County and enters the Tarim Basin, where it serves as one of the main sources of water for Karakax and Hotan Counties. The western part of Aksai Chin region is drained by the Tarim River. The eastern part of

8100-562: The pace of negotiations and the Indian forces detained two Chinese officials who came to investigate the shed at Chumar. The Chinese eventually disengaged on 5 May and took some retaliatory actions at Chumar. After the 2013 standoff, India established a permanent post to the west of the Y-junction and bottleneck, from where Indian troops observed and stopped any Chinese patrols attempting to cross beyond that point. Indian patrols, however, continued their old patrol routes on foot going through

8200-537: The pattern of Indian presence" along the border. Consequently, both sides gradually moved up to the line, asserting their presence. The patrols often crisscrossed, and the different perceptions of the LAC became manifest. Between 2003 and 2008, China embarked on large-scale infrastructure development in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. Starting in 2010, the Aksai Chin Road (G219) was re-paved at

8300-457: The periphery of the Depsang Bulge. The so-called 1956 claim line of China is part of the "Big map of the People's Republic of China", published in 1956. It has special significance in that Chinese premier Zhou Enlai certified it to the Indian premier Jawaharlal Nehru , in a December 1959 letter, as showing the correct boundary of China. The Chinese boundary in this map ran east of all but one of

8400-504: The proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) around the world. INR is the department's principal liaison with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Since the creation of the ODNI, there have been many changes in the IC, including more attention to customer needs, new standards for information sharing, and initiatives regarding analytic standards. INR participates in

8500-660: The region contains several small endorheic basins. The largest of them is that of the Aksai Chin Lake , which is fed by the river of the same name. The region as a whole receives little precipitation as the Himalayas and the Karakoram block the rains from the Indian monsoon . The nearby Trans-Karakoram Tract is also the subject of ongoing dispute between China and India in the Kashmir dispute . Prior to 1950,

8600-556: The release of imagery-derived information to foreign governments. INR/IPC/IRE develops and represents the department's intelligence information needs in interagency forums concerned with requirements, collection, evaluations, and future architectures in signals, imagery, and measurement and signatures intelligence, as well as open-source information. INR/IPC/IRE provides staff support to INR principals for their participation in interagency mechanisms dealing with intelligence collection, prioritization, and resource issues. INR/IPC/IRE serves as

8700-1006: The representative of the secretary of state in the Intelligence Community (IC), liaises with the Director of National Intelligence and the IC, and ensures bureau participation in community intelligence analysis, as appropriate. The assistant secretary ensures that U.S. intelligence activities support U.S. foreign policy priorities and are carried out in accordance with law and with Executive Order 12333 dated December 4, 1981. The assistant secretary articulates requirements for intelligence collection and analysis in support of diplomacy. The assistant secretary maintains information management systems to ensure efficient, timely receipt, processing, and dissemination of intelligence materials. The assistant secretary facilitates requests to other intelligence agencies from Department offices for declassification, release, or exceptional use of information derived from intelligence sources. As senior officer of

8800-500: The resulting "bulge" in the Indian territory around the Burtsa Nala has been dubbed the Depsang Bulge in popular parlance. Prior to the 1962 war , the Indian Army had established half a dozen posts on the hills to the north of the Depsang Bulge. These were mostly of platoon to section strength, manned by Jammu and Kashmir Militia ( Ladakh Scouts ). The Chinese PLA launched its attack on 20 October 1962, with overwhelming strength,

8900-527: The risks, consequences, and alternatives of covert operations” among other reasons. Among the recommended changes to NSC 5412 are the need for the U.S. to maintain plausible deniability for covert actions as well as an acknowledgment that covert actions “carry the serious long-term risk of eroding or negating [legal and social] principles, which are fundamental to the achievement of long-range United States objectives.” Therefore, “United States policy to keep covert operations to an irreducible minimum, and to undertake

9000-457: The rivers that drain into the Shyok River. (Map 2, green line) In June 1960, when the Chinese delegates met the Indian delegates for border discussions, they revealed a new expanded boundary, which has come to be called "the 1960 claim line". This line dissected all the rivers that drained into Shyok, except for the Burtsa Nala. (Map 2, brown line) Why the Burtsa Nala should have been singled out for this special treatment has not been explained. But

9100-541: The shortness of time for staffing” the INR memo went on to point out that some covert activities “lack adequate detail on how certain programs are to be carried out and we lack continuing review of major ongoing programs in the light of changing circumstances.” The memo made a number of recommendations to improve oversight by the 303 Committee and to revisit procedures for the “handling of 5412 activities.” Later that year, INR’s director Thomas L. Hughes made recommendations to revise NSC 5412 in order “to deal more explicitly with

9200-563: The situation led INR to anticipate the scope or nature of the Tet Offensive." Still, the majority of the INR's findings were accurate to the course of the war and highlighted the poor intelligence gathering of the CIA in comparison. An annex within the review was dedicated to critiquing the CIA's decision in intelligence gathering and the conflict the CIA had with the Defense Intelligence Agency . In July 2004,

9300-655: The southern part of the boundary up to the Chang Chenmo Valley , but regarded the area north of it as terra incognita . William Johnson , a civil servant with the Survey of India proposed the "Johnson Line" in 1865, which put Aksai Chin in Kashmir. This was the time of the Dungan revolt , when China did not control most of Xinjiang , so this line was never presented to the Chinese. Johnson presented this line to

9400-474: The territory of Xinjiang (see accompanying map). According to Francis Younghusband , who explored the region in the late 1880s, there was only an abandoned fort and not one inhabited house at Shahidulla when he was there – it was just a convenient staging post and a convenient headquarters for the nomadic Kirghiz . The abandoned fort had apparently been built a few years earlier by the Kashmiris. In 1878

9500-536: The visitors of Aksai Chin were, for the most part, the occasional explorers, hunters, and nomads who passed through the area. Prior to European exploration in the 1860s, there were some jade mining operations on the Xinjiang side of Aksai Chin. They were abandoned by the time European explorers reached the area. In the 1860s to 1870s, in order to facilitate trade between the Indian subcontinent and Tarim Basin ,

9600-586: The wake of news reports regarding CIA interference in domestic affairs and efforts to assassinate Castro, the Johnson White House ordered the Justice Department to investigate CIA ties to private voluntary organizations in the US. It was increasingly clear, writes journalist Tim Weiner , that “[t]he mechanisms created to watch over the CIA and to invest its clandestine service with presidential authority were not working.” The INR provided

9700-568: The wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq . In June 2009, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested former INR employee Walter Kendall Myers on charges of serving as an illegal agent of the Cuban government for nearly 30 years and conspiring to provide classified U.S. information to the Cuban government. Myers had worked in the INR from 2000 to 2007. His arrest was the culmination of

9800-629: The weaknesses of the South Vietnamese Government and of the failing US strategy in Vietnam, and that, despite pressure from the military and Pentagon, INR had portrayed and projected the course of the war more accurately than any other source. That being said, there are instances within the review noting events the INR could not have predicted, one of the most infamous being the Tet Offensive in 1968; "Nothing, however... of

9900-585: Was a "legacy issue" unrelated to the 2020 standoff. Former Army officers have however contested the assertion, claiming that regular patrols have been going on ever since the 2013 Depsang standoff ended. Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China partly in Hotan County , Hotan Prefecture , Xinjiang and partly in Rutog County , Ngari Prefecture , Tibet and constituting

10000-424: Was more defensible. The Ardagh line was effectively a modification of the Johnson line, and became known as the "Johnson-Ardagh Line". In 1893, Hung Ta-chen, a senior Chinese official at St. Petersburg , gave maps of the region to George Macartney , the British consul general at Kashgar, which coincided in broad details. In 1899, Britain proposed a revised boundary, initially suggested by Macartney and developed by

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