M A I N   N E W S

Hu Jintao arrives today amid Arunachal chill
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

Apart from the Indo-China trade which has crossed $ 20 billion, the main question on the mind of most Indians is the resolution of the border issue. The trade volume is nothing compared to its potential.

Ambassador Sun, in recent interviews to Indian television channels, has thrown cold water on the border issue. In brief, he has made it clear that the whole of Arunachal Pradesh belongs to China, though the Chinese could be flexible on the principle of “mutual accommodation”. Uncharacteristic of past Chinese ambassadors in India, Mr Sun has been rather liberal with media interviews in the run up to the presidential visit. He also gave a glimpse how aggressive China was to be if New Delhi did not toe Beijing’s line on the issue.

There was an obvious strategy in the Ambassador giving liberal access to selected Indian media. It was Beijing’s decision to warn India in advance about their priorities for the visit in which the border issue has no priority. As Ambassador Sun said while lowering the rhetoric a bit, the border question was an inheritance from history, and it best be put back to history till the atmosphere was right for both sides.

Two signals have come from Beijing on the border issue. One was the Chinese Foreign Ministry position that they were satisfied with progress on the border talks, but would not be dragged into Mr Sun’s statements in Beijing.

Next, a closed-door roundtable, a fortnight ago, organised in Beijing by the Institute of Asia Pacific Studies was more sharply to the point. A group of high-powered Chinese experts made it emphatically clear that if India ceded Tawang to China, the border issue could be solved quickly and China might be kind and magnanimous to some Indian demands in the Western sector. Nothing specific, however. It was also made clear that without settling the border issue, progress in bilateral relations would have natural limitations.

The Chinese have made clear their minimum demand, but that does not mean more will not be added. India’s strategic concerns remain vague in Chinese positions.