The
Simla Accord, or the
Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet, [in] Simla, was a disputed treaty concerning the status of Tibet negotiated by representatives of China, Tibet and Britain in
Simla-Politics/History:Simla , the summer capital of British India, often refers generically to the government of the British Raj.-Places:* Shimla , city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh...
in 1913 and 1914.
The Simla Accord provided that "Outer Tibet" would "remain in the hands of the Tibetan Government at Lhasa." This region, approximately the same as today's
Tibet Autonomous RegionThe Tibet Autonomous Region , also called Xizang Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China .Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of...
, would be under Chinese
suzeraintySuzerainty is a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary some limited domestic autonomy. The superior entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain...
, but China would not interfere in its administration.
The
Simla Accord, or the
Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet, [in] Simla, was a disputed treaty concerning the status of Tibet negotiated by representatives of China, Tibet and Britain in
Simla-Politics/History:Simla , the summer capital of British India, often refers generically to the government of the British Raj.-Places:* Shimla , city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh...
in 1913 and 1914.
The Simla Accord provided that "Outer Tibet" would "remain in the hands of the Tibetan Government at Lhasa." This region, approximately the same as today's
Tibet Autonomous RegionThe Tibet Autonomous Region , also called Xizang Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China .Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of...
, would be under Chinese
suzeraintySuzerainty is a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary some limited domestic autonomy. The superior entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain...
, but China would not interfere in its administration. The Accord with its annexes also defined lines which would designate the boundary between Tibet and China proper and between Tibet and British India (the latter became known as the
McMahon LineThe McMahon Line is a line agreed to by British India and Tibet as part of Simla Accord, a treaty signed in 1914. Although its legal status is disputed, it is the effective boundary between China and India....
).
However China refused to accept the Accord and their
plenipotentiaryThe word plenipotentiary has two meanings.As a noun, it refers to a person who has "full powers"...
, Ivan Chen, withdrew on 3 July 1914. After his withdrawal the British and Tibetan plenipotentiaries attached a note denying China any privileges under the Accord and sealed it as a bilateral agreement on the same day.
[This accord was initialed and sealed by the British plenipotentiary, A. Henry McMahon, and sealed by the Tibetan plenipotentiary Lochen Shatra but not the Chinese plenipotentiary, Ivan Chen, as he had withdrawn from the Convention before the Accord was initialed and sealed.("Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet, Simla (1914)", Tibet Justice Center, Retrieved 2009-03-20).]
Background
Early British efforts to create a boundary for north east India were triggered by their discovery in the mid-19th century that Tawang, an important trading town, was Tibetan territory. In 1873, the British-run Government of India drew an "Outer Line," intended as an international boundary. This line follows the alignment of the Himalayan foothills, now the southern boundary of Arunachal Pradesh. Britain had concluded treaties with Qing China concerning Tibet's boundaries with Burma and Sikkim. However, Tibet refused to recognize the boundaries drawn by these treaties. British forces led by Sir
Francis YounghusbandLieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...
invaded Tibet in 1904The British expedition to Tibet during 1903 and 1904 was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, seeking to prevent the Russian Empire from interfering in Tibetan affairs and thus gaining a base in one of the buffer states surrounding British India, by reasoning similar to that which had led...
and imposed a treaty on the Tibetans. In 1907, Britain and Russia acknowledged Chinese "
suzeraintySuzerainty is a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary some limited domestic autonomy. The superior entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain...
" over Tibet and both nations "engage[d] not to enter into negotiations with Tibet except through the intermediary of the Chinese Government."
British interest in the borderlands was renewed when the Qing government sent military forces to establish a Chinese administration in Tibet (1910-12). A British military expedition was sent into what is now
Arunachal PradeshArunachal Pradesh is the easternmost state of India. Arunachal Pradesh borders with the Indian state of Assam to the south and Nagaland to the southeast. Burma/Myanmar lies towards the east, Bhutan towards the west, and its boundary with the People's Republic of China to the north is disputed and...
and the
North-East Frontier AgencyThe North-East Frontier Agency was one of the political divisions in British India and later the Republic of India till 1972, when it became the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh.-History:...
was created to administer the area (1912). In 1912-13, this agency reached agreements with the tribal leaders who ruled the bulk of the region. The Outer Line was moved north, but Tawang was left as Tibetan territory. After the fall of the Qing dynasty in China, Tibet government at Lhasa expelled all Chinese forces and declared itself independent (1913), however, this was not accepted by the newly founded Republic of China.
Conference
In 1913, the British convoked a conference at
Simla-Politics/History:Simla , the summer capital of British India, often refers generically to the government of the British Raj.-Places:* Shimla , city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh...
, India to discuss the issue of Tibet's status. The conference was attended by representatives of the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
, the newly founded
Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition and jurisdiction over China into a democratic state with limited international recognition and jurisdiction only over Taiwan and minor islands, though it...
, and the Tibetan government at Lhasa. The British plenipotentiary, Sir
Henry McMahonLieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Henry McMahon, GCMG, GCVO, KCIE, CSI was a British diplomat and Indian Army officer who served as the High Commissioner in Egypt from 1915 to 1917. He was also an administrator in British India, and served twice as Chief Commissioner of Balochistan...
, introduced the plan of dividing Tibetan-inhabited areas into "inner Tibet" and "outer Tibet" and apply different policies. "Inner Tibet," includes Tibetan-inhabited areas in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, would be under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government. "Outer Tibet," covering approximately the same area as the modern "
Tibet Autonomous RegionThe Tibet Autonomous Region , also called Xizang Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China .Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of...
" would enjoy autonomy, would be under the administration of the Tibet Government at Lhasa as well as the "
suzeraintySuzerainty is a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary some limited domestic autonomy. The superior entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain...
" of China, (A suzerain is a state which has certain authority over a dependent state). A boundary between Tibet and British India, later called the
McMahon LineThe McMahon Line is a line agreed to by British India and Tibet as part of Simla Accord, a treaty signed in 1914. Although its legal status is disputed, it is the effective boundary between China and India....
, was drawn on a map referred to in the treaty.
The Tibetan Indian boundary was bilaterally negotiated in New Delhi between representatives from British and Tibet. During the Simlar conference a small scale map of the Tibetan Indian border was provided as an annex to the proposed agreement, the annex was not discussed by the Chinese, and the details on a large scale map of what would become known as the McMahon Line were not furnished to the Chinese for their consideration.
The Schedule appended to the Accord contained further notes. For example, it was to be understood that "Tibet forms part of Chinese territory" and after the Tibetans selected a Dalai Lama, the Chinese government was to be notified and the Chinese commissioner in Lhasa would "formally communicate to His Holiness the titles consistent with his dignity, which have been conferred by the Chinese Government"; that the Tibetan government appointed all officers for "Outer Tibet", and that "Outer Tibet" was not to be represented in the Chinese Parliament or any such assembly.
Negotiations failed when China and Tibet could not agree over the Sino-Tibetan boundary. After the Chinese plenipotentiary, Ivan Chen, withdrew from the convention, the British and Tibetan plenipotentiaries attached a note denying China any privileges under the agreement and signed it as a bilateral accord.
Aftermath
Simla was initially rejected by the Government of India as incompatible with the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention. The official treaty record, C.U. Aitchison's
A Collection of Treaties, was published with a note stating that no binding agreement had been reached at Simla. The Anglo-Russian Convention was renounced by Russia and Britain jointly in 1921, but the McMahon Line was forgotten until 1935, when interest was revived by civil service officer
Olaf CaroeSir Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe KCSI KCIE was an administrator in British India.-Life:He was Governor of the North-West Frontier Province, from 1946 to just before the Partition of India in 1947...
. The
Survey of IndiaThe Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of mapping and surveying. Set up in 1767 to help consolidate the territories of the British East India Company, it is one of the oldest Engineering Departments of the Government of India...
published a map showing the McMahon Line as the official boundary in 1937. In 1938, the British published the Simla Convention in Aitchison's
Treaties. A volume published earlier was recalled from libraries and replaced with a volume that includes the Simla Convention together with an editor's note stating that Tibet and Britain, but not China, accepted the agreement as binding. The replacement volume has a false 1929 publication date.
In the late 1950s, the McMahon Line became a source tension between China and India. China contends that Tibet was never an independent state and so it could not sign a treaty on behalf of China to delineate an international frontier. Chinese maps shows Chinese territory extending well south of the line. The disputed area is referred to as
Arunachal PradeshArunachal Pradesh is the easternmost state of India. Arunachal Pradesh borders with the Indian state of Assam to the south and Nagaland to the southeast. Burma/Myanmar lies towards the east, Bhutan towards the west, and its boundary with the People's Republic of China to the north is disputed and...
by India and South Tibet by China.
British's policy change
Until 2008 the British Government's position remained the same that China held suzerainty over Tibet but not full sovereignty. It was the only state still to hold this view.
David MilibandDavid Wright Miliband is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and is the current Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs...
the British Foreign Secretary described the old position as an anachronism originating in the geopolitics of the early 20th century.
[Lunn, p. 8] Britain revised this view on 29 October 2008, when it recognised Chinese sovereignty over Tibet by issuing a statement on its website.
The EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in an office in the City of Westminster, London. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843. While The Economist calls itself a...
stated that although the British Foreign Office's website does not use the word sovereignty, officials at the Foreign Office said "it means that, as far as Britain is concerned, 'Tibet is part of China. Full stop.'"
The British Government sees their new stances as an updating of their position, while some others have viewed it as a major shift in the British position. Tibetologist Robert Barnett thinks that the decision has wider implications. India’s claim to a part of its northeast territories, for example, is largely based on the same agreements — notes exchanged during the Simla convention of 1914, which set the boundary between India and Tibet — that the British appear to have just discarded. It has been speculated that Britain's shift was made in exchange for China making greater contributions to the
International Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...
.