Nirmala Ganapathy (The Straits Times), The Asia News Network, New Delhi, India | Wed, 01/18/2012 11:18 AM
India and China said Tuesday they would work towards finding a peaceful solution to their dispute over the Himalayan border and establish a joint committee to manage the region.
Foreign ministry officials from both countries yesterday signed the agreement hammered out by India's National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and visiting Chinese state councilor Dai Bingguo, the two special representatives to the 15th round of border talks.
A joint statement released after two days of talks said that China and India would maintain the 1993 Line of Actual Control while a final boundary is drawn, in a move that would be "significant for enhancing mutual trust and security".
The planned committee would meet once or twice a year and be headed by foreign ministry officials from both sides.
It would look into conducting military and information exchanges along the rugged border, but would not be involved in mapping out a definitive boundary.
Thus issues related to resolving the tricky problem remain. The special representatives format has been trying to hammer out a resolution to the issue since 2004.
Officials from both sides declined to speak to reporters after the talks.
The border between India and China has been at the centre of much bilateral tension, and sparked a short war between them in 1962.
Arunachal Pradesh, a north-eastern state in India, is a major bone of contention, with China claiming it as its own.
Although there is a deal to not disturb settled populations in any future border settlement, Beijing is keen on acquiring Tawang, a Buddhist enclave in the state.
India says China's occupation of Aksai Chin, 38,000 sq km of territory in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, is illegal.
The two countries have been moving ahead on other aspects of their bilateral relationship, but discussions on the complex border problems at the special representatives level lost steam after 2008.
In fact, China had initially called off this 15th round of talks – originally scheduled for November last year – at the last minute, because a Buddhist conference was taking place at the same time.
Against this tense backdrop, the announcement of the formation of the joint committee is seen as a sign that the two sides are at least keen to move forward.
Ahead of the talks, Bingguo wrote in an article in an Indian newspaper that Beijing was "fully committed to developing long-term friendship" with New Delhi.
"The idea [for a mechanism] was mooted during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India in December 2010," said Jawaharlal Nehru University Chinese studies professor Srikanth Kondapalli.
"This is due to the reported incidents of transgression on the border and to see to it that it doesn't spill over into problems along the border."
India had in the past complained of "aggressive patrolling" along the border by Chinese troops, and the Indian media has carried numerous articles on the subject.
Kondapalli said: "It is significant that we had this meeting. It is significant that we continue talking and have some communication."
Some experts feel that it is time for the two sides to move forward on resolving the border dispute once and for all.
Former Indian foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh said: "This was a feel-good exercise after a troubled spell in ties. We haven't seen any signs of real progress in terms of settling the border issues or intentions to come to a settlement any time soon." (mtq)
