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Pranab Mukherjee’s China visit – no Sikkim issue in boundary talks

	June 09, 2008

India has told China that is was not ready to bring the Sikkim issue in the boundary talks because there is no dispute concerning that portion of the boundary with it. This was one of the issues reportedly discussed by External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee with his Chinese counterepart, Yang Jiechi, during his four-day visit to China last week. Before heading for Beijing, Mukherjee also inaugurated the Indian Consulate General Office in China’s business capital, Guangzhou.



Mukherjee ended two days of intensive talks in Beijing with a high note on June 6 with the Chinese Foreign Minister declaring that the relationship is heading in the right direction. Mukherjee also expressed satisfaction with the talks which were described by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon as “constructive and forward looking”.



Mukherjee carried a wide-ranging agenda from the long-running border issue, often dogged by irritants to trade and water to discuss with Yang Jiechi. They also reviewed progress in the talks between the Special Representatives of the two countries who have conducted 11 rounds of negotiations on the border dispute.



The talks incidentally took place in the background of some important developments which impacted India-China relations – the Chinese claim to a small strip of land on the border in northern Sikkim known as Finger Area, the military crackdown on Buddhist monks in Lhasa which provoked the Dalai Lama to speak for them, the Tibetan demonstrators in New Delhi storming the Chinese Embassy and then the Olympic Games relay torch arriving in New Delhi when the Indian Government ensured that there was no disruption. These developments somewhat clouded the gains of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to China earlier.



The new Chinese claim to a small piece of land in northern Sikkim called Finger Area, prominently figured in their talks. Mukherjee made it clear that Sikkim was an integral part of India and there can be no question of considering Finger Area as a matter of dispute. The Chinese side said though the two sides have different perceptions on the issue, they need to look at it. “Let our people sit and talk”, the Chinese side is reported to have said to which the Indian delegation said “there was zero dispute on Sikkim.” Both sides decided to maintain peace along the border and not to disturb the status quo or to change the situation. There was no mention of Arunachal Pradesh which had been the cause of much mistrust between the two countries over the past years.



The two countries renewed a deal on cooperation over sharing hydrological data and on monitoring the situation to guard against possible floods. The Chinese leaders expressed happiness over the establishment by India of a Consulate Office in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou which was inaugurated by Mukherjee before arriving in Beijing. Mukherjee also stopped over at the earthquake hit Sichuan province before returning home. Yang Jiechi thanked India for sending relief material worth $5 million to quack victims.



In the presence of the two Foreign Ministers on June 5, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on sharing of flood season hydrological data of the Brahmaputra river. The document was signed by India’s Ambassador to China, Nirupama Rao, and the Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Water Resources, Hu Siyi. Also, in a rare gesture, Mukherjee personally conferred the Padma Bhushan award on Ji Xianlin, considered the foremost Chinese Indologist who has inspired love for Indian culture and literature among generations of his countrymen. He is the first Chinese to receive the honour. He has translated, apart from the Ramayana, several major Indian classics into Chinese including the Shakuntala and Panchtantra and taught generations of Chinese students, many of whom have pursued Indology. Mukherjee visited the ailing 97-year-old scholar in a military hospital to present the medallion and the award certificate.



The Indian delegation to the talks with Yang included Foreign Secretary Menon and Ambassador Nirupama Rao. Mukherjee could not meet Premier Jiabao on June 6 as he had to rush to the earthquake-shattered Sichuan. Mukherjee instead met Vice President Xi Jinping, who is tipped to be the successor of President Hu Jintao when he completes his second term. The two leaders vowed to strengthen their strategic ties. Xi said, China will work with India to promote bilateral strategic partnership of cooperation and contribute to long-lasting peace. Mukherjee, for his part, said the cooperation between the two countries would not only be conducive to regional peace and prosperity but also the whole world.



Earlier in the day on June 6, Mukherjee addressed an audience of diplomats, Chinese Hindi professors, students and Beijing’s Indian diaspora at Peking University. He said both countries need to be “patient and realistic” in resolving their differences.



Mukherjee’s first stop before reaching Beijing, was the booming Guangzhou city of Guangdong province on June 5, where he inaugurated the Consulate General of India. Speaking on the occasion, he said India was keen to learn from China’s remarkable success in developing Special Economic Zones and expected the trade target of $60 billion between the two countries to be surpassed before 2010. China has earmarked six special economic zones including the entire Hainan province while the Government of India has cleared 401 proposals since 2006 and already set up 222 SEZs. Critics have made this point and asked the Government to learn from China which has regulated the number of economic zones and set up these zones only on barren land and along coastal areas.





Dalai Lama’s support on Tawang issue

While the Arunachal Pradesh issue was not discussed by India and China, for the first time Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has said that Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, claimed by China, is part of India. Acknowledging the validity of the McMahon Line as per the 1914 Simla Agreement in an interview to Navbharat Times, he said Arunachal Pradesh was part of India under the agreement signed by Tibetan and British representatives. Observers recall that in 2003, while touring Tawang, the Dalai Lama had been asked to comment on the issue but had refused to give a direct answer. China does not recognize the McMahon Line and claims that Tawang and Arunachal Pradesh are part of its territory. China has indicated if Tawang was handed to it, it will give up its claim to Arunachal Pradesh.



Chinese protest over reopening of Ladakh airbase

Beijign has expressed “unhappiness” to New Delhi about the reopening of its old Ladakh airbase on the India-China border. This protest, made after India operationalised the base last week, has been informally transmitted through officials. It comes after China’s reported claim to a small area on the Sikkim border that put the Indian Government in a spot because this was a part of the border that was supposedly no longer a contentious issue. China described it a “minor and local” issue.



However, India’s decision to reopen the 4900-metre Daulat Beg Oldi airbase in Ladakh after 43 years apparently speaks louder than words. The base gives India coverage over Aksai Chin as well as the Karakoram highway which connects China with Pakistan. India now plans to open two other air bases in Chushul and Fukche in eastern Ladakh, also on the Chinese border.



The decision to reopen the airbases is understandable. China has emerged as India’s greatest strategic concern, having for years worried only about Pakistan. Indian officials say that dealing with Chinese counterparts is more difficult these days because they have become more belligerent across the table that makes India’s diplomats more than a tad uncomfortable.



There is increasing concern in New Delhi about China building up road and rail capabilities that connect it with Nepal as well as proposed rail routes that will bring China close to Nathu La, the Arunachal Pradesh border as well as the Myanmar border junction. Besides, the long series of incursions across the LAC over the past few months has upset this country though India has not officially protested about it. Essentially, what this amounts is the fact that both countries are ramping up their border capabilities though India is still many years behind China in this regard.