Buffer States, Part 1: The Himalayas

Whether it be immigration, smuggling, resources, or just a raw struggle for power, borders are notoriously difficult to manage. This is no secret. For the past few centuries, powerful states have set up smaller and weaker “Ëœbuffer states’ to create ipso facto demilitarized zones and preserve their security. I’m going to shine a light on a few of these buffer states over the next few days. Today’s case study — the mountainous border between India and China.

The Himalayan plateau is an inhospitable place. Clear and definite borders are all but impossible to designate. This is one reason Nepal and Bhutan survive — meanwhile, there is not one mile along the China-India border that both of the collosal nations agree on the demarcation, and consequently, there is no overland border crossing between China and India. Nepal and Bhutan keep things less complicated.

I was writing about this back in April, and here’s the map again. China says its borders extend to the red line — India says its borders extend to the blue line. and this isn’t just a cold war. India and China fought a small war over the territory in 1962.