evidence: China perceives significant security threats along its expansive disputed border with India, commonly known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The LAC is roughly divided into three sections. The eastern stretch of the border runs along an area roughly the size of Austria that is claimed by China as part of southern Tibet but administered by India as the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Near the central part of Tibet’s border is a narrow 80-kilometer (km) stretch of land between Nepal and Bhutan that is partly disputed by not just China and India, but also Bhutan. In 2017, tensions flared there on the Doklam Plateau after Chinese army engineers attempted to build a road through the area. India sent troops to stop the construction and China dispatched its own forces to the area resulting in a tense 73-day standoff. China and India faced off again in 2020, this time at the disputed western sector of the border that straddles the Indian-administered territory of Ladakh, the Chinese-administered region of Aksai Chin, and Tibet. Skirmishes broke out at several points along the LAC in this area—including Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, and others—resulting in deaths on both sides. This marked the first time in decades that border tensions between China and India resulted in fatalities, and the flashpoint remains a major source of tension between the two countries.