Khurnak Fort


The Khurnak Fort is a ruined 19th century fort in western Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is in the disputed Aksai Chin region claimed by India.

Description

The fort lies close to the northern bank of the Pangong Tso and has an elevation of 4257 meters above sea level. It is situated on a rock in the northwestern part of the Khurnak plain.

History

In 1863, British topographer Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen described Khurnak as a disputed plain claimed both by inhabitants of the Panggong district and Tibetan authorities from Lhasa. He personally believed that it should belong to the latter due to the "old fort standing on a low rock on the north-western side of the plain" previously built by the Tibetans. Godwin-Austen remarked that the Kashmiri authorities in Leh had recently exerted their influence in the region such that Khurnak was effectively controlled by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Alastair Lamb, the majority of British maps published between 1918 and 1947 showed Khurnak as being in Tibet.
The boundary between India and China was considered to be at the Khurnak Fort and Indian forces visited it from time to time and had a post there. China wrested its control since around July 1958, according to most sources.
During the 1960 talks between the two governments on the boundary issue, India submitted official records including the 1908 Settlement Report, which recorded the amount of revenue collected at Khurnak, as proof of jurisdiction over Khurnak. The Chinese claim line of 1956 did not include the Khurnak Fort, but the 1960 claim line included the Khurnak Fort.
In 1963, Khurnak Fort was described by the US National Photographic Interpretation Center as follows:
As of 2019, a PLA border patrol company of the Western Theater Command is stationed nearby.