India, Nov. 30 -- The 1914 Simla Convention made clear that the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA, today Arunachal Pradesh) was ceded by Tibet to British India-not to China. Beijing's claim that this territory is "South Tibet" has no historical or legal foundation. In 1914, representatives of Tibet, British India, and the Republic of China convened in Simla to settle questions of sovereignty and borders across the Himalayas. The resulting Simla Convention divided Tibet into "Outer Tibet" and "Inner Tibet," while also delineating the boundary between Tibet and British India through what became known as the McMahon Line.

Tibet was a sovereign participant. The Dalai Lama's government sent plenipotentiaries who negotiated directly with the Br...