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| Row over Indian territory of Arunachal Pradesh | | India, China to hold their first defence dialogue | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, May 29: Minister for External Affairs, Pranab Mukherjee, has achieved a major breakthrough by making China accept the idea favouring first defence dialogue between New Delhi and Beijing. The two countries have agreed to set dates for their first defence dialogue.
This follows a 40-minute meeting in Hamburg between Pranab Mukherjee and his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi. This was the first meeting between Mukherjee and the new Chinese foreign minister.The discussion took place on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) that India is attending for the first time.
According to a statement isued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Nedw Delhi, Pranab Mukherjee and his Chinese copunterpart reviewed progress under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for defence cooperation. It said that dates would be fixed for the annual meeting of the "Defence Dialogue Mechanism". The MoU was signed in 2006 when Mukherjee, then the Defence Minister, visited Beijing.
The dates for the dialogue, as also the date and venue of the first joint drill to be conducted by the armies of the two countries was expected to have been finalised during the visit to China of the Indian Army chief, Gen. J.J. Singh that concluded on Sunday. The announcements were apparently delayed because of New Delhi's displeasure over Beijing's denial of a visa to an Indian official who was to tour the country along with a large group of fellow officers.
Beijing says that it denied the visa as the official hails from India's northeastern State of Arunachal Pradesh that China says is a part of its territory and whose citizens do not require the travel document. New Delhi says that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.
The discussion between Pranab Mukherje and his Chinese counterpart "also touched upon the boundary question and it was agreed that special representatives will continue with their work with the encouragement and guidance of the political leadership", the statement said. The two Ministers reviewed the India-China bilateral relationship in the light of the 10-pronged strategy to strengthen bilateral relations spelt out during President Hu Jintao's visit in November 2006.
On the eve of Mukherjee's visit to Hamburg, Chinese authorities raised a political storm by reiterating China's claim to Arunachal Pradesh. What is the dispute all about? The essential dispute is over China's refusal to acknowledge the McMohan Line as the border between the two nations, and staking claim to large tracts of land as a contiguous part of Tibet.
In the late 1950s, soon after occupying Tibet, China occupied a large tract (approximately 38,000 square km) of Aksai Chin, a remote part of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir bordering Pakistan, and built a highway (National Highway 219) through it to connect with its eastern province of Xinjiang. India considers this an illegal occupation. In the middle, or southern part of Tibet, China asserts that the border dividing Tibet and Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh are also disputed. And in the east, it lays claim to the entire State of Arunachal Pradesh.
While China officially stakes claim to all of Arunachal Pradesh, it is a small district called Tawang, which borders Tibet and Bhutan, which it is most interested in. The town is famous for its monastery, built in 1681 by the by the Tibetan Lama Lodre Gyatso in accordance to the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Nagwang Lobsang Gyatso. China cites the monastery as evidence that the district once belonged to Tibet and wants New Delhi to return it in order to help settle the row.
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