China passes new law to protect border land amid military standoff with India

China has adopted a new law over the protection and exploitation of land border areas, which comes as the nation is in a border dispute with India for over a year. The law, which will become operational from January 1, 2022, says,  "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the People's Republic of China are sacred and inviolable", state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the report, the newly-passed law states that the nation will take measures to safeguard territorial integrity and land boundaries and guard against and combat any act that undermines territorial sovereignty and land boundaries, the report said.

The state shall take measures to strengthen border defence, support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas, improve public services and infrastructure in such areas, encourage and support people's life and work there, and promote coordination between border defence and social, economic development in border areas, the law stipulates, the report said. 

To " prevent, stop and combat invasion, encroachment, provocation and other acts", the law says that the Chinese military "shall carry out border duties" including "organising drills".

The law also says that the state should support the construction of border towns, improving their functioning and strengthening supporting capacity for the construction.

The law comes as China in recent years has been strengthening border infrastructure, with the establishment of air, rail and road networks. While China has also started constructing a number of villages close to the border with proper infrastructure in Tibet, the neighbour nation has launched a bullet train in Tibet which extends up to Nyingchi, the border town close to Arunachal Pradesh.

(With agency inputs)