The Ardagh-Johnson Line is one of three boundary lines considered by the British Indian government, the other two being the Macartney-MacDonald Line and a line along the Karakoram range. The British preference among the three choices varied over time based on the perception of their strategic interests in India. The Ardagh-Johnson Line represented the forward school that wanted to advance the boundary as forward as possible as a defence against the growing Russian empire. Following the Chinese reluctance to acquiesce to the more conservative Macartney-MacDonald Line, the British eventually reverted to the forward line in the Aksai Chin area, which was then inherited by the independent Republic of India.