India China Relations A Perspective History Essay

India china Relations A Perspective History EssayThe Sino Indian boundary has never been formally delimited. Historically no treaty or agreement on Sino-Indian Boundary has ever been sign-language(a) between the raiseese Central organization and the Indian Goernment. Zhou En Lai, 23 Jan 1959.General1. chinaware as an emerging power generates fear, concern and mistrust among the countries across the globe including the USA. Its rapid stinting growth, fuelling an equally rapid troops modernisation coupled with enhancing trans border capabilities has sent wake up calls, break inicularly to the United States, Japan and India.1 chinaware is following a two pronged strategy of reassuring its neighbours of its placidityful intentions, even while pressing ahead with huge military expenditure. Now that china patronizes poised to break through as a global power, the international community is uncertain almost mainland chinas intentions, despite all the peace rhetoric that emanate s from its semipolitical leaders and state organs.2. An abbreviation of Indias dealings with the Peoples Republic of mainland china today must take into account the historical perspective ,differences in the global situation, domestic policies and perceived national tri entirelye interests which set the 1950s and 2000s apart. In view of the diversity and range of issues which cave in engaged India and China, the India-China relationship could be described as a very mixed engagement.India China Relations Pre 1947 Phase3. Prior to the independence, the leaders of the national liberation movement of both(prenominal) the countries deeply sympathised with their respective popular struggles to put an end to colonialism. During the Nipp sensationse attack on Manchuria province of China in 1931, not only China Day was observed in India, but a call was overly given by the Indian nationalists for boycott of Japanese goods. In July 1940, Mao Dezong had written to Jawahar Lal Nehru, The emancipation of the Indian people and the Chinese will be the prognosticate of the emancipation of all the downtrodden and oppressed.RelationsPostIndependence4. Indias view of China was to a great extent shaped by Nehrus ability to persuade the Indian elite to try and take an objective view of both the positive and negative aspects of Chinese nationalism. Some major events post independence are listed below-(a) Diplomatic Recognition. India diplomatically recognised the peoples Republic of China on December 30, 1949.(b) 1954 Accords. The relations between India and China in the 1950s were very cordial. In 1954, the Chinese prime(a), Mr. Zou En Lai chaffered India which led to the signing of two Accords as follows-(i) India recognised Tibet as an constitutive(a) part of China and considered it to be an autonomous region of China.(ii) The declaration of Panchsheel in the Joint Communiqu. The Panchsheel enshrined the five principles as follows(aa) Respect for Sovereignty and T erritorial Integrity of all States.(ab) Non-aggression.(ac) Non-interference in Territorial affairs.(ad) Equality and Mutuality.(ae) Peaceful Co-existence5. The Tibet Problem. Tibet was briefly conquered by Mongols in the thirteenth century but former(a)wise came to a lower place Manchu control only in the eighteenth century. The British regarded Tibet as a buffer state, and, in the Shimla assembly of 1913, recognised Chinese suzerainty, but not sovereignty, over Tibet. This was never accepted by any Chinese government, but they could do little about it. In 1950, the PLA invaded Tibet to integrate it into the Chinese State.2In 1954, India recognised Tibet as an integral part of China and China undertook to respect the religious and cultural traditions of the Tibetans. In 1959, a ascension took place against Chinese rule in Tibet, and the Dalai Lama fled to India with his followers. This large-scale influx of Tibet refugees into India headed by the Dalai Lama led to heightening of tensions. The Chinese regarded the hosting of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan refugees and the government in exile as an obstacle to India China relations.The 1962 Conflict6. India claimed that the McMahon striving demarcating the Indo China border was an internationally recognised boundary.3The Chinese policy centred on re-negotiations and delineation of borders where no treaty or agreement existed. The differing positions on the status of the boundary laid the basis of the conflict. The Chinese attacked in North Eastern Frontier Area (NEFA) and Ladakh starting time from 20 October 1962 and occupied about 5000 square miles of the Indian Territory. China declared a unilateral ceasefire on 10 November 1962 and withdrew behind the McMahon Line in the NEFA Sector. However, it gained about 3000 square kms of Indian Territory, though, according to Chinese version, it does not occupy even a single inch of Indian Territory. Instead it asserts that more than 90000 square kms of the Chinese dist rict is still under Indian occupation.In 1962,the Indian Parliament passed a proclamation to wage an unending struggle till the recovery of Indian dominion from China and it also forbade cessation of any occupied territory to China as part of any settlement.Relations later the War7. Because of Indias close relations with the Soviet Union and her leadership of the non aligned movement, China saw India as a political rival in the Third World and constantly try to denigrate it in various forums. The assistance extended to the insurgents by China was considered a serious issue by India. The rebel Nagas were given training in arms and provided with weapons and funds to carry on armed rebellion in India. In June 1967, two Chinese embassy officials in Delhi were arrested for espionage. In September 1967, China attacked Indian position at Nathu La and in October attacked another position at Cho La. In April 1968, manipulations were done again at Nathu La.Beginning of the raw(a) Era8. M r Rajiv Gandhis yell to China in December 1988 marked a turning point in the normalisation of relations between the two countries4. During this confer, the two states formally concord to put aside their past differences and to rebuild their relations on the basis of the five principles of Panchsheel. Both sides agreed to settle the border issue through rough-cut consultations through Joint Working Group(JWG), consisting of military experts, cartographers and foreign policy officials and pledged to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border while taking other confidence building measures. Intensified political interactions, regular institutionalised negotiations on all issues of bilateral interest under the Joint Working Group poser begun in 1989, and the deepening of exchange and other ties laid the regime of confidence and security building between the two countries.In 1993, the consequently prime minister Mr. Narasimha Rao visited China and both the sides agreed to force reduction on the border.9. China showed no response to Indias nuclear tests on 11 May 1998 but reacted sharply after May 13 tests, when Vajpayees letter to Clinton was made public. It asked India to give up the programme and join NPT. Chinas claimed that its security concern increased due to the tests and now it will have to cater for nuclear India also.There had been deterioration in Indo-China relations after the conduct of nuclear tests by India. China adopted a. brazenly.partisan.attitude by circumstanceing Indias nuclear tests as offensive but describing Pakistans nuclear tests as only regrettable.510. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayees Visit to China (June 2003). The visit by the then prime minister has been tagged as a new turning point in Indo- China relations.During the visit both the countries issued a joint declaration on Principles for Relations and nationwide Cooperation Between India and China in the future. The declaration rolled out a road map for frien dship and cooperation. The key issues of the declaration are as under -(a) Boundary Issue. The two sides agreed to appoint a peculiar(prenominal) vocalism to explore from the political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship for the framework of a boundary settlement. India and China agreed to a iii phase settlement of the border dispute as under-(i) Phase I. The agreement on the manoeuvre Principles to settle the border dispute.(ii) Phase -II. The special representatives of the two sides to construct a framework based on the guiding principles.(iii) Phase -III. Apply this framework on the ground in a single package deal involving give and take, which will be worked on a political basis by the Special Representatives.(b) Tibet. The Indian Side stated that it recognises Tibet as a part of China and reiterated that it does not allow .Tibetans to engage in anti China political. activities.11. Re extending of the Nathu La (06 July 2006). The Nathu La gap used to be a part of the ancient Silk Route, a vital trade link between India and China, prior to its closure in 1962. During the visit of the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2003 China recognised Sikkim as a constituent of India and signed a MoU to resume trade .Nathu La Pass reopened after 44 Years on 06 July 2006 when India and China formally inaugurated trade through the Nathu La Pass, linking Sikkim and the Tibet self-reliant Region (TAR).6At present the border trade is limited to the border zone and the export list is restricted to 29 items of export for India and 15 items of export for China.12. Chinese Prime Ministers Visit to India. The Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India for three days with a 400 strong Chinese business delegation in December 2010. Indian and Chinese business institutions signed 50 deals worth $16 billion surpassing the $10 billion worth of agreements signed during the visit to US President Barack Obama in November 2010. Pending resolution of the staple d visa issue, for the first time India refused to include in the Joint Statement references to Chinese sovereignty in Tibet and One China that had been part of the past three summit level declarations.13. India China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. The agreement to initiate the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED) was taken during the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabaos visit to India in December 2010.The first ever Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) was held in Beijing on 26 September 2011.The objective of setting up the SED was to increase coordination on macro economic policies and to provide a platform for both countries to leverage common interests and shared developmental experiences.14. annual falsification Dialogue. The Annual defence mechanism Dialogue (ADD) has added a positive note to Indo-China relations. The defence.dialogue was established under. the provisions. of the MoU for Exchanges and Cooperation in the field of Defence, signed between India and China in 2006. The fi rst Annual Defence Dialogue was held in Beijing in 2007 followed by the second in Indian in 2008. The third meeting was held in Beijing in 2010. India and China held the Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) in New Delhi on 09 December 2011.15. Indias External Affairs Ministers Visit to China. Indias External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna visited China on 08 February 2012. He inaugurated Indias new $10 million embassy, which was described as a new page in ties with China. India and China stressed for a flexible and inventive approach in 2012 to bilateral relations to minimise the effect of persisting political irritants, like the border dispute and Tibet. According to Mr. Krishna, it was the Government of Indias position that the Tibet Autonomous Region was part of the Peoples Republic of China, and as a result of that India was dealing with the internal affairs of China and India would be very cautious.The Chinese Government apprehended the firm support of the Indian Government over the Tibet issue. Both the countries decided to mark 2012 as the year of Friendship and Cooperation.CURRENT MAJOR IRRITANTS IN INDIA-CHINA dealing16. Relations between India and China have improved considerably in the last nine to ten years. However, normalisation does not imply that divergences in the strategicalal perceptions between the two have suddenly converged or that conflicts of interests and differences of opinion on a range of issues have disappeared. Despite an improvement in India China relations, a number of issues emerge as irritants.The Boundary and Territorial Dispute17. Refer figure 1. The border dispute can be traced.back to the Shimla Conference of 1914. When. the representatives of British India, Tibet and China met. It was decided in the Conference. that Tibet was an autonomous country and the McMahon Line would be the boundary between India and Tibet though Chinese sovereignty of some sort would extend over Tibet. At the. conference the representatives of India and Tibet signed the agreement, China did not, thus disputing the McMahon Line.Therefore,the McMahon Line in the East and the boundary (Aksai Chin) along Ladakh in the West .remained a boundary by usage and understanding. The result was that the exact boundary was not demarcated, leading to border skirmishes in 1962 and the Chinese penetration into the .Sumdorang Chu Valley of Arunachal Pradesh in 1986.Figure 118. The chief(prenominal) issues of the coast Dispute are as under7-(a) Arunachal Pradesh. China refuses to recognise Arunachal Pradesh as part of India. China claims 90,000 square kilometres as their territory whuch is almost the wholly of Arunachal Pradesh , calling it South Tibet. The border dispute is the legacy of the British colonial rule. The boundary is now known in both India and China as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).(b) Aksai Chin. India accuses China of occupying 38,000 square kilometres in Jammu and Kashmir,in the Aksai Chin region, north east of Ladakh.(c) Trans-Karakoram Tract. Under the Sino-Pakistan Boundary agreement of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory (Trans-Karakoram tract) to China. The transfer is disputed by India as it is part of Jammu and Kashmir.19. Indias position. In the West the border should remain at the 1959 position thus implying that it does not recognise Chinese claim over Aksai Chin. The northern borders of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim correspond to the McMahon Line and hence the boundary. India also states that China is occupying Indian territory since the 1962 conflict and also that the territory west of Karakoram in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) legally belongs to India and has been illegally ceded by Pakistan to China.20. Chinas Position. China claims 90,000 sq km, which is almost the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh.Occupies 38,000 sq km, which is Aksai Chin in Kashmir. Occupies 5,000 sq km of Shaksgam valley ceded to it by Pakistan in June 1963 and does not recognise the McM ohan Line.21. Talks to Resolve the Border Dispute. The meeting of the experts from both sides laid foundation for a dialogue by the Sino-Indian Joint Working Group (JWG), the top body negotiating the final settlement of the border dispute. The agreement on confidence building Measures (CBMs) signed during the visit by the Chinese President to India in 1997 reiterates. the determination. of both sides to seek a fair, and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary question. In the year 2000 Maps of middle sector were exchanged. In 2003 the Special Representatives were appointed after the then Prime Minister Vajpayees China visit.on 11 April 2005.An agreement on political parameters and guiding principles was signed which spelt out the three main territorial disputes i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin Region and Trans-Karakoram.22. 15th Round of Border Talks. The 15th round of Border Talks was held in New Delhi on 16 and 17 January 2012. Indias Special Representative for the dialo gue was the National Security Adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon and Chinas Special Representative was Dai Bingguo, State Councillor. The border talks are currently in the second stage of negotiations, which involves agreeing upon a framework to settle the dispute. The first stage was concluded with an agreement on political parameters and guiding principles in 2005. The third and final stage would involve the specifics of delineating the border. During the talks both sides agreed to set up a working mechanism on border management to deal with important affairs related to maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas. The agreement to establish the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on the India-China Border Affairs would. Undertake. Tasks. that are mutually.agreed upon by the two sides, but would .not discuss. resolution of the Boundary dispute. The Working Mechanism would study ways and means to strengthen. exchanges. and cooperation. between military. perso nnel and establishments of the two sides in the border areas and would be headed by a Joint Secretary-level ships officer from the Ministry of External Affairs and a Director General level officer from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and would also comprise diplomatic and military officials of the two sides.Chinas Infrastructure development Along the Border23. Defence Minister A.K. Antony told the Rajya Sabha on 14 December 2011, that India has taken a serious note of Chinese infrastructure development in the border regions opposite India in Tibet and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions. The infrastructure development included the Qinghai-Tibet railway line, with proposed extension up to Xigze and Nyingchi overly roads and airport facilities. In response the Indian Government was giving careful and special attention to the development of infrastructure in the border areas opposite China to meet Indias strategic and security requirements.China Objection to Indian Defence Ministers Visit to A runachal Pradesh24. In February 2012, the Defence Minister Mr. A.K. Antony visited Arunachal Pradesh to mark the 25th anniversary of its Statehood. China called on India to refrain from taking any action that could complicate the border dispute. The Defence Minister emphasised that, like Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh was an integral part of India and as Defence Minister it was both his right and duty to visit the State and all other border States. Indias external affairs minister Mr S.M. Krishna said that Arunachal Pradesh was a part and parcel of India and all seven States in north-eastern India were part and parcel of India, and China had no rights to make adverse remarks on the Defence Ministers visit to Arunachal Pradesh.Chinas Development action in Pakistan occupied Kashmir825. On 14 October 2009, India called upon China to stop developmental activities in areas illegally occupied by Pakistan.India was reacting to Chinas assurance to Pakistan of help in upgrading the Ka rakoram road and building the Neelam-Jhelum hydro electric project in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). India noted that Pakistan had been illegally occupying parts of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947, and China was fully aware of Indias position and concerns about Chinese activities in PoK. India hoped that China would take a long term view of India-China relations and cease such activities in areas illegally occupied by Pakistan. Chinas presence in PoK has grown in recent years and it is currently involved in several infrastructure projects in the disputed region.26. During the Russia-India-China Trilateral Summit in November 2010, Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi that that just as India had been sensitive to its concerns over Tibet Autonomous Region and Taiwan, China too should be mindful of Indian sensitivities on Jammu and Kashmir. This was the first time India had drawn this parallel directly. The comparison was intended to emphasise th e depth of Indias concerns over Chinese attempts to question the countrys sovereignty in Kashmir.27. Chinas Stand. China said that it was a matter for India and Pakistan to resolve and that China had no reason to change its policies on Kashmir .The Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said that China everlastingly believed that the problem of Jammu and Kashmir could only be resolved through dialogue and negotiations between India and Pakistan and that there was no unavoidableness for China to change its policy.Sino-Pak Strategic Equation28. Chinas gnarly strategic equation with Pakistan poses a hindrance to any substantive improvement in Indias relations with China.The core of Sino-Pakistan ties comprises the transfer of military hardware and technology besides nuclear co-operation. Islamabad has been getting weapons at subsidised prices from China. The overt.and covert.military assistance by. China. to. Pakistan is the biggest impediment. in improving India-China relations. The Sino-Pakistan collusion in the nuclear field is seen as Chinas long term strategy in gaining supremacy over India.Status of Tibet and Dalai Lama29. Despite the government of Indias acceptance of Chinese sovereignty over Tibet,China is still not satisfied. The main reason being that India has given asylum to Dalai Lama and has become a refuge for disaffected Tibetans fleeing the country. China does not fully accept Indias stand that while India revered the Dalai Lama as a Holy man and a spiritual leader, it would not allow him to engage in any political activity on Indias soil. Beijing is suspicious of Indias continued willingness to host the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan Government in exile.9In November 2011, China postponed the 15th round of Border Talks with India over Dalai Lamas participation in a Buddhist conference that was scheduled to take place at the same time in New Delhi. China said that it was opposed to any country that provided a platform for the Dalai Lama and his anti- China activities.Issuing Stapled Visas to Indian Citizens Domiciled in Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh1030. In October 2009, it came to light that the Chinese embassy in New Delhi had begun issuing visas to Indian passport holders from Jammu and Kashmir on a separate sheet of paper rather than stamping them in their passports as is the case with other Indian citizens.China has also issued stapled visas to the handful of Indian passport holders from Arunachal Pradesh. Analysts point out that the separate sheet visas for Kashmiris was seen by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as an attempt by China to question the status of Jammu and Kashmir. The immigration authorities were told to treat any visa that was not stamped on a passport as invalid for the purpose of travel. India asked China not to discriminate against visa applications filed by its nationals on grounds of domicile and ethnicity.In January 2011, China again issued stapled visas to two Indian sportsmen from Arunachal Pra desh. India again unequivocally conveyed to China that a uniform practice of issuance of visa to Indian nationals must be followed regardless of the applicants ethnicity or place of domicile. India strongly conveyed that it would not accept anything that questions the status of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh which were an integral part of India. On 06 January 2012, India cancelled the visit by a military delegation to China after one of its members, an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer from Arunachal Pradesh was denied visa by China.Bilateral Trade Imbalance in Favour of China31. As the bilateral trade between India and China touched $60 billion in 2011, China enjoyed a trade surplus of $24 billion in 2011.The widening trade imbalance has been a source of concern, particularly because trade has emerged as the key to bilateral relations amid persisting political uncertainties.The record trade imbalance has raised questions on the sustainability of the relationship.India has st ressed that China should open up its economy for more exports from India. Indian exporters could explore getting access to Chinas markets in information technology, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and allied products.Both the countries have agreed to a strategic economic dialogue to enhance macro-economic policy coordination and address challenges in economic development and cooperation.China agreed to take measures to promote greater Indian exports to China with a view to reduce Indias trade deficit.China agreed to gradually resolve the problems faced in China by Indian pharmaceuticals, Information Technology and agricultural products.32. more diplomatic water has flowed under the bridge of Sino-Indian relations since 1962 and we need to take a pragmatic view of it. Such a view needs to be informed by an appreciation of the several common features that India and China share as civilisational entities which are trying to cope with modernisation of their traditional societies, on the o ne hand, and the process of integrating with the international system, on the other. China is not only an important civilisation out there, it is Indias largest neighbour right here.11Thus, there is a need for making independent assessments of Chinas capabilities and intentions rather than borrowed judgments made from different strategic viewpoints.