China’s rubber-stamp legislature adopted a land border law on Oct. 23 amid a protracted standoff over disputed territory with India. The measure takes effect on Jan. 1, 2022, and comes after a step-up in Chinese activity along its disputed border with India and Bhutan, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), at its Himalayan frontier. At the LAC, Chinese soldiers have been in a standoff with Indian troops since April 2020, with violent, deadly clashes breaking out in May, ending with a true in June. Ongoing talks held between the corps commanders on the two sides now in their 13th round failed to reach a resolution again on Oct. 10. This is the first time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing has outlined a dedicated law specifying how it governs and guards its 22,000-kilometer (14,000-mile) land border shared with 14 countries, including former superpower Russia, North Korea, Mongolia. The …