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Hindustan Times
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Why China refuses to resolve the border issue
India's defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar visited China recently in connection with the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Beijing later this year, and aimed at preparing the ground for a possible prime ministerial visit that could be the first in seven years. What is striking is the different tones adopted by the two ministers with their counterparts. During his visit in June, Singh created a minor flutter when he told his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, that there was a need 'to have a permanent solution of border demarcation by rejuvenating the established mechanism on the issue'. Jaishankar's tone during his meeting with his counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing last week was quite different. He spoke of the 'steadily improving' India-China relations as a result of the 'resolution of the friction along the border and our ability to maintain peace and tranquility there.' Peace on the border, he told Wang, was the fundamental basis of good relations. After the disengagement that had taken place in 2024, the time had come to undertake de-escalation that would see the reduction of the additional forces the two countries had massed in the eastern Ladakh-western Tibet region, he added. The Chinese could not have been too happy about Singh raising the border issue the way he did. As Jaishankar noted, the two sides are in the process of repairing their ties that were shattered by the Chinese 2020 misadventure in Eastern Ladakh. They have barely agreed to restore status quo ante there, and now the Indians appeared to be taking a huge leap forward by suggesting that the two sides move to settle their long-running border dispute that has prevented the demarcation of their border. According to the government press release of June 27, Singh stressed the issue of border management and the need 'to have a permanent solution of border demarcation by rejuvenating the established mechanism on the issue'. The Chinese response to Singh came a day later when Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning pointed out that the two sides indeed have such a mechanism, that of the office of Special Representatives who had worked out the 'Agreement on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India-China Border Question'. When the Press Trust of India reporter pointed out that there had been '20 rounds of special representative talks,' Mao's reply was the standard Chinese retort that 'The boundary question is complicated, and it takes time to settle it'. In the meantime, she hoped that the two countries would maintain communications and keep 'the border areas peaceful and tranquil. The Political Parameters agreement was signed a quarter century ago in 2005, and the two Special Representatives have held 23 rounds of meetings, the last in December 2024. The meeting of the Chinese Special Representative Wang Yi (who is also foreign minister) and his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, in Beijing in June, was at the sidelines of an SCO meeting. They did not take the opportunity to meet as the Special Representatives whose stated task is to resolve the border issue. The Political Parameters Agreement was indeed a far-reaching one. It certified that the two sides were seeking to resolve their boundary question not through historical claims and maps, but on 'political' grounds. Article III of the agreement said that both sides should make mutually acceptable adjustments to their respective positions 'to arrive at a package settlement'. Articles IV and VII seemed to suggest that the framework suggested would essentially freeze the border on an 'as is where is' basis — China retaining control of Aksai Chin and India of Arunachal Pradesh. But, almost immediately, China began to walk back from the agreement. In 2006, Chinese ambassador Sun Yuxi declared that China claimed all of Arunachal Pradesh, including Tawang. At the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting in 2007, Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi told his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherji that the 'settled populations' part did not apply to the Tawang tract. The Chinese shift seemed to have been occasioned by some internal re-thinking. This is related to the Dalai Lama and Tibet. The monastery in Tawang was founded at the instance of the fifth Dalai Lama, the 'Great Fifth'. The Tawang region was also the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama, who was not Tibetan, but a Monpa. The Chinese worry that the next Dalai Lama could well be incarnated in the region. Since that time, the Chinese have stuck to their position that unless Tawang was conceded, there can be no border settlement. Not surprisingly, India has told them that keeping Tawang on the Chinese agenda was the surest way to block a border settlement. Leave alone demarcating a permanent border, China has steadily refused to even clarify the Line of Actual Control that currently marks the border, creating the potential for conflict. It was the Chinese blockade preventing India from exercising its right to patrol several areas where there were overlapping claims that led to the 2020 crisis in eastern Ladakh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to persuade the Chinese in 2014 and 2015 to clarify these points on the LAC, but to little avail. The first time was when Xi Jinping visited India in October 2014, and the second was when Modi made a return visit in May 2015. The only conclusion that arises from the Chinese equivocation on permanently settling the border is that they want to keep open a means of stoking conflict with India. The aim is to not only pressure New Delhi to accept a border on Chinese terms, but also use it as leverage against India in relation to Chinese interests in South Asia. Manoj Joshi is a distinguished fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. The views expressed are personal.
Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
China says ready for talks with India on border issues
New Delhi: China on Monday responded to Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh's call for a fresh push to demarcate the disputed boundary between the two countries by saying that it is ready for discussions on managing and delimiting the border. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. (Reuters) The remarks by Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning came four days after Singh met his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun and emphasised the need for a permanent solution to the border dispute. 'China stands ready to maintain communication with India on issues including delimitation negotiation and border management, jointly keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil, and promote cross-border exchange and cooperation,' Mao told a media briefing in Beijing while responding to a question on Singh's comments. Since India and China reached an understanding last October to end a four-year military face-off in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the two sides have held a series of meetings to normalise their relations and to address the border issue. This has included meetings between the Special Representatives on the border issue, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. Mao acknowledged the border dispute would take time to resolve and hoped India will work with China to manage the border areas and keep them peaceful. 'The boundary question is complicated, and it takes time to settle it. The positive side is that the two countries have already established mechanisms at various levels for thorough communication,' she said. 'We hope that India will work with China in the same direction, continue to stay in communication on relevant issues and jointly keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil.' An intense clash between the two sides at Galwan Valley in June 2020 had killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops and taken bilateral ties to their lowest point in six decades. Mao also pointed to various measures initiated by the two sides to address the border issue, including the mechanism of Special Representatives and the Agreement on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the China-India Boundary Question. The two sides also have diplomatic and military communication mechanisms at various levels, she said. When Singh met his Chinese counterpart on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers' meeting in Qingdao on June 26, he highlighted the need for solving 'complex issues through a structured roadmap of permanent engagement and de-escalation'. Singh also stressed on border management and the need for a 'permanent solution of border demarcation by rejuvenating the established mechanism on the issue', according to a readout from India's defence ministry. He called for 'bridging the trust deficit' created by the 2020 border standoff by taking action on the ground. Singh emphasised 'good neighbourly conditions to achieve best mutual benefits' and to cooperate for stability in Asia and the world. The readout said Singh and Dong agreed to continue consultations to achieve progress on troop disengagement, de-escalation, border management and 'eventual de-limitation through existing mechanisms'. As part of the ongoing process of normalising relations, India and China recently resumed the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in the Tibet region. They are also engaged in talks on resuming direct flights.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
China says Sino-India border dispute complicated, takes time; Ready to discuss delimitation
China acknowledges the complexity of the boundary dispute with India, suggesting resolution will take time, but expresses readiness for border delimitation discussions to maintain peace. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh proposed a structured roadmap to de-escalate tensions and demarcate borders during talks with his Chinese counterpart. Both sides aim to maintain communication and promote cross-border cooperation for a peaceful border region. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads China on Monday said that the boundary dispute with India is complicated and will take time to settle but at the same time, it expressed its readiness to hold discussions on the delimitation of the border and keep it Minister Rajnath Singh in his meeting with Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Qingdao on June 26 proposed that India and China should solve the "complex issues" under a structured roadmap comprising steps to de-escalate tensions along the frontiers and rejuvenate the existing mechanism to demarcate the and Dong held bilateral talks on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese port city of Qingdao, with a focus on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).Asked for China's reaction to Singh's remarks, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, "What I can tell you is that China and India have established the Special Representatives (SRs) mechanism on the boundary question and reached the Agreement on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the China-India Boundary Question".The two sides have diplomatic and military communication mechanisms at various levels, she said."China stands ready to maintain communication with India on issues including delimitation negotiation and border management, jointly keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil, and promote cross-border exchange and cooperation," she about the prolonged delay in resolving the border issue despite 23 rounds of the SR-level talks, Mao said, "The boundary question is complicated, and it takes time to settle it"."The positive side is that the two countries have already established mechanisms at various levels for thorough communication. We hope that India will work with China in the same direction, continue to stay in communication on relevant issue and jointly keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil," she 23rd round of the meeting of the SRs, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, was held here in December last year. It was the first meeting of the SRs since frictions had emerged in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas in SRs in their meeting positively affirmed the implementation of the latest disengagement agreement of October 2024, resulting in patrolling and grazing in relevant his meeting with Dong, Singh had emphasised the need to create "good neighbourly conditions" to achieve the best mutual benefits and called for "taking action on the ground" to bridge the "trust deficit" resulting from the 2020 eastern Ladakh border standoff, according to an Indian also briefed Dong on the Pahalgam terror attack targeting innocent civilians, and India's Operation Sindoor to dismantle the terrorist networks in Singh-Dong meeting came amid efforts by both New Delhi and Beijing to reset their ties following an understanding last October to end the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
