Saturday, November 29

Boundary Dispute


The detonation of a series of nuclear devices by India and Pakistan has increased tension in South Asia and threatens to inflame long-standing boundary disputes that India has with China, Nepal, and Pakistan. The disputes with China and Pakistan have already triggered several wars. The new Hindu-nationalist government in New Delhi has reversed movement toward détente with Beijing and Islamabad. The areas in contention with China and Pakistan are among the largest land-boundary disputes in the world. China and India have yet to address their fundamental and very large land boundary disputes. Moreover, their bilateral relations are complicated by the issues of Tibet (Xizang), Sikkim, and Kashmir. India plays host to the Dalai Lama and a large number of Tibetan refugees. They present an implicit threat to Chinese control of Tibet, which it invaded in 1950.

September 1993, China and India signed an accord to reduce tensions along their border and to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC). November 1996, China and India agreed to delimit the LAC and institute confidence-building measures (CBMs) along the frontier. The agreement pledged nonaggression, prior notification of large troop movements, a 10-km no-fly zone for combat aircraft, and exchange of maps to resolve disagreements about the precise location of the LAC. However, recently India has told China that Beijing's steadfast refusal to clarify the LAC was leading to incursions into Indian territory and political disquiet. The Indian response came after China protested "Indian movements into Sikkim". The Chinese protest was made at the flag meeting of the commanders well before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Beijing.

The concern on the Indian side is that these incursions by China are taking place a little more frequently than India is comfortable with. Despite some pleasant noises between Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao, there is unlikely to be any substantive movement on the boundary issue for some time. Meanwhile, China is refusing to play ball on clarifying the LAC because of the underlying concern that India might stall on the larger question of the boundary settlement.

Back in August 1997 the Indian Defense Minister, George Fernandes, had accused the PRC of repeated violations of Indian territory, including the construction of a helipad on "Indian" territory in the disputed zone, and of aiding Pakistan's nuclear and missile programs. He publicly labeled China as India's number one threat and alleged that the PRC was stockpiling nuclear weapons in Tibet, expanding naval activity off the Burmese coast, and conducting surveillance against India from Burma's Coco Islands.


References:

http://www.boundaries.com/India.htm

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Chinas_lack_of_clarity_on_LAC_angers_India/articleshow/2736007.cms


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