- The Indian and the Chinese are the two of the world’s most ancient civilizations that are still alive.
- India and china are the only counties with population more than 100crs.
- India and china are separated by the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau.
- As once wisely said by political observers "the global political architecture is shifting from the west to the East" which has been termed Asian century. Viewing from this point, these nations, India and china bilateral relations are going to play a major role in the international political system.
- “When we shake hands, the World will be watching” ---Chinese Premier
- However even today the graphs of sino-Indian relationship remain complex.
- These two emerging economies will set the future of this Asian century.
Quick Review:
- Political contact between India and China is very limited.
- The silk route brought both the nations in contact with trading and commercial relationship. However territorial dispute between the two nations owe its existence to the colonial post.
- Both the nations were slaves to foreign masters.
- In 1954, china and India signed an agreement in the name Panchsheel which means five principles of peaceful coexistence. India-China Relations Its features are:
(i) Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty;
(ii) Mutual non-aggression;
(iii) Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs;
(iv) Equality and mutual benefit;
(v) Peaceful coexistence. After this agreement was signed, similar agreements were signed between various counties round the globe. In 2004, India and China celebrated 50 years of Panchsheel.
- In 1962, China attacked India and defeated
- Sino-Pakistani relations have been largely built on cynical anti-India considerations.
- Following communist revolution in China, Pakistan grew its strong relation with china as Pakistan felt it to be right step to counter India & soviet.
- Sino-Pak relations were so India-Centric that many Indian strategic analysis believe that biggest hindrance to Sino-India is because of relation of Sino-Pak
- The world has accused China of supplying nuclear and missile technology to Pakistan by providing satellite photographs as evidence. BY doing so. Chine is following a disguised foreign policy with India.
- The deep water port at Gwadar in Pakistan is to transform economy of the underdeveloped Chinese provinces of Xinjiong
The Hidden fact behind construction of Gwadar ports it to build strategic relations with several countries along the sea lanes from the Middle East to the South China Sea to protect china’s energy interests and security objectives. This construction is not only a growing concern for India but also for the US and Iran. Besides, India is exhibiting timely acts to counter China.
Border Issue:
The porous boundary which was demarcated by Imperial Britain, with northern boundaries of India with Tibet, led to dispute between China & India in claiming territories and tiny intrusion. The historic Shimla agreement of 1914 delimited McMahon line between India and China but the latter repudiated this. This line come active only when the British tried to exercise its influence beyond borders in Arunachal Pradesh. Issues arising out from this map to following places/areas.
(i) Tawang Town: This a town in Arunachal Pradesh where a famous monastery was built by the Tibetan Lama Lodre Gyatso according to wish by the 5th Dalai Lama, Nagwang Labsong Gyatso in 1961. China shows the monastery as evidence that the district (which borders Tibet and Bhutan) belongs to Tibet and wants India to return it.
(ii) Aksai Chin: There has been no treaty signed either with china or Tibet regarding claiming of ownership of this land chunk. However, a British note of March 14, 1899, stands as the only formal proposal on a boundary between India and China in the Karakorum sector. The Chinese government has never replied to the British note, thus leaving its stand on the issue unclear. However, Lord Curzon had recommended in the Govt of India dispatch of March 24, 1904 that in the absence of a reply, it is deemed to be accepted and proceeds to act as if it had.
Today:
India and China share over 2,000 miles of barren, icy borders in the Himalayas that stretch from Jammu & Kashmir in north to Arunachal in the East. China claims 35,000 square miles within India’s jurisdiction where as India fights over occupation of 15,000 square miles on the Tibetan plateau by China. There exists no formal border between the both. Neither of them knew where the line of Actual Control lies.
Cry Over Tibet:
In the first place Tibet was seen as a route to trade with china, but later it was seen as a buffer place to counter Russia’s advancing into India by British. However following events happened :
- 1903: A political mission was sent from India to secure Understandings on frontier and trade relations.
- 1904: A treaty was signed at Lhasa between British India and Tibet without Chinese interference. The Dalai Lama fled to china.
- 1906: The Chinese signed a treaty with the Britain without Tibetan participation. This enabled the Chinese to seek direct control of Tibet by using force against the Tibetans for the first time in 10 centuries.
- 1910: The Dalai Lama again was forced to flee, this time to India.
- 1911-12: The Tibetans expelled all the Chinese and declared Independence.
- 1951: Tiber was invaded following the communist revolution in china.
- 1959: Tibetan uprising was brutally suppressed which led to death of 87,000 people and Dalai Lama and most of ministers escaped and came into India and formed a government-in-exile at Dharmshala.
- The then prime minister of India JL Nehru realized that the importance of peace for achieving the goal of nation-building and thus gave asylum to the Dalai Lama. This intensified disagreements with China and signed a treaty with China. By the same agreement, India also surrendered all political and economic rights enjoyed by British India in Tibet.
- In this agreement, Tibet was referred to as ‘Tibet region of china’ Ever since, the official Indian position has been than Tibet is an autonomous region of china.
- India’s continued asylum to the Dalai Lama and government-in-exile is of some discomfiture to the Chinese.
- Chinese occupation of Tibet is in part responsible for the acrimonious border dispute between India and China.
- India and every country in the world accepts Tibet as a part of china and all ongoing issues in that part of the world as internal matter of Chinese.
- India has offered very little support to the Tibetans.
1962 War:
- The construction of a road linking Tibet with the Chinese Xinjiong Uygur autonomous region via Aksai Chin, a region that was historically part of Ladakh in India triggered the war.
- India did not react until the road building was announced in Chinese Newspapers. No sooner India protested and sent a border patrol into the disputed territory and china publicly repudicated India’s claim to this territory.
- Nov 1961: India sent troops into the Aksai chin to prevent further Chinese encroachments. Minor border clashes and diplomatic warnings followed for next ten months.
- Sep 1962: The Chinese military crossed into Assam.
- Oct 20, 1962: The Chinese declared a ceasefire and withdrew 20km India had last over 22,000 sq Km of territory.
Nehru’s Role:
He passed away in 1964. He sternly advocated the admission of communist china into international community. He had refused an American offer of a permanent seat at the UN Security Council replacing China but advocated that Taiwan be replaced by China. Nehru requested western assistance especially the US when the Chinese crossed the McMahon line eventually to gain control over oil fields in Assam. When the US jet fighters intervened, the Chinese declared a unilateral ceasefire and its troops were called back to 20 kms on its own side.
Efforts and recent progress:
(i) Both the nations hosted each-other’s news agencies.
(ii) Mount Kailas and the Mansarovar lake in Tibet, the mythological home of Lord Shiva were opened to annual pilgrimages from India.
(iii) Eight rounds of border negotiations between Dec 1981 and Nov 1987.
(iv) Rajiv Gandhi visit to china in Dec 1988 (after Nehru’s visit in 1954) stressed on the need to restore peace and friendly relations on the basis of Panchsheel.
(v) In 2003, during PM Vajpayee’s visit, china officially recognized Indian sovereignty over Sikkim as the two nations moved towards resolving their border disputes.
(vi) Special representatives were appointed by both sides to negotiate the border issue.
Existing differences:
- 2006: During the visit of Chinese President Hujintao, the Chinese Ambassador in New Delhi claimed that the whole of Arunachal Pradesh in Chinese territory.
- July 2007: An IAS officer of Arunachal Pradesh visa was denied during the visit of Indian IAS officers delegation saying that he was a Chinese citizen and therefore did not need a visa to enter china.
- 2008: China started issuing stapled visas to residents from Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
- 2011: Issuing stapled visas stopped.
- April 2013: A Chinese army patrol entered Daulat Beg Oldi in the western sector in Ladakh and set up a camp there.
All the above mentioned facts only say china does not want India to emerge as a global power and this border dispute is perhaps a long way away from a solution.
Visit and improvement in relations:
- R K Narayana was sent as Indian ambassador to Beijing in 1977 during Indira Gandhi rule.
- Rajiv Gandhi Visit in 1989: During this visit it is decided by both the sides to restrict border issue to cold storage & strengthen then relations in other areas.
- During the visit of the Chinese PM Li Peng in 1991, agreements on resuming of consulate-generals, memoranda an assuming border trade and on cooperation in science and Technology for the peaceful uses of outer space were signed. As a result of which Chinese consulate General in Mumbai in 1992 and the Indian consulate General in shanghai in 1993 were reopened.
- During the visit of the Indian PM PV Narsimha Rao, in 1993, the peace and Tranquility agreement was signed.
- During the visit of the Chinese President Ziang Zemin in Nov 1996, reaffirmed the five principles of peaceful coexistence to strengthen relationship in the 21st century and an agreement on confidence building measures in the Military Field along the Line of Actual control on the china and India Border was also signed.
- During the visit of the Indian PM Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2003, progress was made in growing consensus and not to view each other as a security threat, appointing special representatives both sides, and to work on economic cooperation.
- During the visit of the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in 2005, a joint statement characterizing their relationship as a strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity was issued. Beijing and New Delhi signed the bilateral investment Promotion and protection Agreement and set an ambitious bilateral trade target of $40 billion for 2010.
- During the visit of the Chinese President HuJinTao in Nov 2006, a joint statement highlighting a 10-point strategy to elevate the relationship was issued and in addition to this more than a dozen agreements were signed to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy and cultural and educational exchanges.
The year 2006 was celebrated as the year of India-China Friendship.
- In the nuclear test of May 1998, India identified the Chinese as the security threat number one. Correspondingly china reacted strongly and brought a UN Security Council resolution.
- Later, china took a neutral stance in the 1999 Kargil dispute.
Economic Relations:
- Indian economic reforms of 1990-91 ignited economic relations between both the nations.
- China is India’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in 2012-13 was US $66.7 billion.
- A bilateral trade target of US $ 100 billion was set for 2015.
- China imports raw materials, intermediates and components from India.
- Export of Iron ore to china constitutes around 40 percent of Exports of India, pushing Japan to second place.
- The other major exports are plastic materials, steel, chemicals and soybean oil.
- Bio-tech, IT, Health, Education, Tourism and Financial sector were identified as other areas to trade and enhance relations.
- China accounts for more than 5 percent of India’s total FDI receipt where as India accounts for less than 1 percent of China’s total FDI receipt.
- SBI is the first Indian bank to have a branch in shanghai, pharma companies like Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, IT software companies like TCS, Infosys, NIIT have been established in China.
- However, a huge trade deficit has been building up in china’s favour.
Energy Security and Relations:
- India and China are two of the largest, fastest growing consumers in the present world. (India imports 75% of oil & China imports 66% of oil)
- Today both the nations are striking deals with other nations but when realized that their need for oil is taken as advantage and prices are hiked, many diplomatic negotiations took place. However, CNGC with CNPC won the bid for Petro Canada’s stakes in Syria in 2005.
- India and China are in a desire to institutionalize cooperation on energy security and as a result of which few visits were made from both the sides and finally signed five memoranda to strengthen their energy cooperation.
PRESENT SITUATION:
- India and China closely cooperate within G20 & BRICS framework for democratization of the international financial structure.
- Frequent high visits is made mandatory by now by both the nations.
- In BRICS summit, held in South Africa, the Chinese president and Indian PM stressed an strengthening ties.
- Li Keqiang visited India first after taking charge as PM, even though it was the turn of Indian PM to visit according to protocol.
- India and China also discussed on Afghanistan and to deal with challenges there.
- In recent years, china maintained a balanced South Asia policy and neutral stance between India and Pakistan.
Few Points to take note :
- Transmission of Buddhism from India to China gave a cultural dimension to the relationship between the two neighbours.
- China supported Pakistan in 1965 and 1971 wars against India.
Conclusion:
The Sino-India relationship is bound to be one of the most important bilateral relationship in the coming decades. Together they account for 40% of world’s population and their booming economic growth will project them to second and third place within the next two decades. Feeble issues like peace, stability in regions will purely depend on the relations these nations build.
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