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Indo-China talks on LAC clarification |
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Experts from India and China ended their two-day talks in New Delhi on June 29 on their nagging border disputes. They focussed the discussions on the 545 Kilometre middle sector boundary along Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh where the differences between the two sides on the alignment of the border are minimal. The middle sector includes 200 km of Himachal Pradesh boundary with China and 344 Km of boundary along Uttaranchal. The maps for middle were exchanged in Beijing in November 2000 at the 8th meeting of the expert group.
The meeting also finalised the Eminent Persons Group which will draw up a road map for improving ties.
The 9th meeting of the expert group of diplomats and military officers which rapped up the talks on June 29 was headed from the Indian side by Mr. Vijay Gokhale, Director East Asia in the External Affairs Ministry and Mr. Sun Guo Xiang, Deputy Director for Asia in the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Both sides reaffirmed their intention to proceed with the process of confirmation and clarification of the LAC on the basis of the agreement on the maintenance of peace and tranquility along the LAC signed in 1993.
Briefing on the talks, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said, the experts exchanged views on the maps depicting the LAC as perceived by the two countries.
So far, China had been evading the Indian demand to clarify its perception about the Line of Actual Control although China has delineated its border with almost all the other countries including Myanmar and the Soviet Union. The Indian position is that the Line of Control runs along the crest of the Himalayas, the basis on which the McMahon Line was drawn up during the British days. However, China disputes the McMahon Line in the Eastern sector because it says that China was not represented when the agreement was signed in Shimla between the then British Government and the Tibetan plenipotentiaries. Similarly, on the Western sector where China occupied large chunks of Indian land to which it lays claim, in the 1962 war, it is laying claim to Ladakh as well. However, it is in the middle sector that the differences between the two countries on where the Line of Actual Control lies, are minimal. It was therefore, a big achievement when China agreed for the first time to exchange maps for the least problematic middle sector and resolve the differences. This agreement was reached between the Foreign Minister of the two countries when Mr. Jaswant Singh visited China last year. It was resolved to increase the frequency of the experts meetings, to exchange the maps on the middle sector and only after the differences on this sector are resolved that the two sides would proceed to exchange maps on the western and eastern sectors. Out of the total boundary of 3268 kms with China, the western sector includes 1597 and eastern sector 1126 kms.
After determining the LAC in the middle sector, the two sides are expected to align their perceptions in the other two sectors. The LAC clarification in the western sector is expected to be more difficult as the area under consideration is much larger than the middle sector. The altitudes in this area are also high. But since this One - designated sub-sector north by India - is part of the Tibetan plateau, large portions of it are flat. The Haji Langar pass is one of the principal gateways into this area from the Chinese side. While progress on the LAC clarification proceeds, sources say both sides are also engaging each other on the political track. The key to the normalisation of bilateral ties may lie with Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. The Chinese in the past, have apparently produced records to show that they have traditionally exercised administrative control over Tawang, China is likely to relent to Indian perceptions along the rest of the boundary with minor modifications. India, however, has made considerable investments in building defences and an administrative architecture in the Tawang area.
The expert group meeting also finalised the names for the Eminent Persons Group. The proposal to set up the EPG was finalised during President K.R. Narayanan’s visit to Beijing last year. The 30-member Group, consisting of eminent persons from different walks of life, including intellectuals, academics, scientists, former Ambassadors, businessmen and industrialists, is being headed by former Minister of State of External Affairs Raghunandan Lal Bhatia from the Indian side and by former Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Shuqing from the Chinese side.
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