The Hindu : `India, China have found a path to resolve border row'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 28, 2003

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`India, China have found a path to resolve border row'

By Amit Baruah

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, being greeted by the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, and the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, at the airport in New Delhi on Friday on his return from China. — AFP

SHANGHAI June 27. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said today that India and China had not just simply discussed their boundary dispute, but had found a "path" to resolve the contentious question.

"The kind of talks that I have had on the boundary issue during this visit have, perhaps, never taken place before," the Prime Minister said at a press conference, pointing to the appointment of Special Representatives who will set the "political principles" to resolve the issue. He hoped that the "new initiative" would "accelerate the search for a solution" to the vexed problem. "Both countries had been discussing principles which are to be followed for an eventual boundary settlement."

On Sikkim and the opening of the border trade, Mr. Vajpayee said that whatever decision had been taken "would take us in the right direction". It was his belief that India's objective (formal recognition of Sikkim by China) would now be achieved early, he said.

On the concerns of Tibetan refugees in India, the Prime Minister, who returned to New Delhi at the end of a six-day visit, revealed that "Tibetan friends" had been consulted by the Government prior to his tour and even during the course of the China visit. "They are satisfied with India's spin."

Despite using the official Chinese title for Tibet (the Tibet Autonomous Region), he tried to put a "new spin" on the issue saying that India had stressed "Tibetan autonomy" in the joint declaration agreed to on Monday. "Nothing new has been accepted or said on Tibet," he said obviously answering possible criticism of the new formulation. "We have reiterated what we have been saying for years. We have stressed Tibet's autonomy," he said adding that the sentiment of Tibet's autonomy had been conveyed to the agreed statement.

In a written statement circulated to the press, the Prime Minister said about the border trade accord that "with this protocol, which would enable trade between Sikkim and Tibet, we have also started the process by which Sikkim will cease to be an issue in India-China relations."

On Tibet, he said: "There has been much discussion and debate on our position on Tibet, as reflected in the Joint Declaration. I do not wish to go into long and tedious explanations or analyses of words. I would only like to state that there is no ambiguity or inconsistency in our position on the Tibet Autonomous Region..."

About his visit, Mr. Vajpayee said the last few days had shown that India and China were moving in the right direction. "The road ahead is a long one, but a good beginning has been made."

The Prime Minister did not answer a question relating to the contradiction between committing India to a "multipolar" world order as contained in the joint declaration and sending troops to Iraq. Reiterating that no decision had been taken on the issue, he said the question of Indian troops coming in harm's way would be considered before taking a decision.

Asked for his impression of the new generation of Chinese leaders, the Prime Minister said that after meeting them he was sure that India could do business with them.

He ruled out the possibility of any defence agreement with China, but maintained that limited cooperation in the sector was possible. Bilateral issues and the international situation, including conditions on the Korean peninsula, had come up for discussions during his talks in Beijing.

Terming "economic cooperation" as the new dimension of India-China ties, Mr. Vajpayee said there were infinite possibilities of expanding trade between the two countries.

He indicated that contentious issues such as the "supply" of missiles by China to Pakistan were not raised during the talks.

Asked if he saw the possibility of a U.S.-brokered West Asia type of peace process in South Asia, Mr. Vajpayee rejected the suggestion out of hand.

Before leaving Shanghai, Mr. Vajpayee spoke to his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, over telephone and thanked him for the hospitality extended.

Reiterating his invitation for Mr. Wen to visit India, Mr. Vajpayee agreed that they would be in regular contact on issues of mutual interest.

In his written statement, the Prime Minister said: "My discussions with President Hu Jintao, Chairman Jiang Zemin and Premier Wen Jiabao... were most cordial and fruitful."

"We got the distinct message from these meetings that China fully reciprocates our desire for mutual goodwill and for a comprehensive expansion of our cooperation in all areas. We were also in agreement that cooperative relations between India and China would be a positive force in the search for a multipolar world order. All my interlocutors stressed that the current global situation requires India and China to work together."

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