By Rajeev Sharma
It is no secret that the tortuous India-China negotiations on the
vexed boundary dispute have remained logjammed. However, a leaked
diplomatic cable of the United States by Wikileaks accords authenticity to this widely held perception.
Though the leaked cable is dated 8 February 2008, the situation
hasn’t changed much since past 62 months and the cable gives a good idea
of a tectonic shift in India’s policy towards (i) Arunachal Pradesh,
(ii) India-China border areas, and (iii) India-China relations.
Incidentally, the cable also throws up ignorance of the American
diplomat who has written the message meant for the State Department, the
CIA and a host of other American entities as the author of the cable
repeatedly mentions India-China as “Indo-China”. Obviously the cable
author is unaware of the fact that Indo-China is the name of the region
that lies close to both India and China and the term Indo-China cannot
be a substitute for India-China. In fact, Indochina refers to Cambodia,
Laos and Vietnam.
The leaked cable, that originated from the American consulate in Kolkata, gives a laserbeam focus on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s
visit to Arunachal Pradesh on 31 January 2008, barely two weeks after
Singh’s visit to China. Singh’s two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh was
the first prime ministerial visit in a decade to the state which China
claims in entirety.
China was livid with Singh’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh and made
noises, only to be ignored by the UPA government that has become
increasingly assertive, even combative, with China. The US cable
detailed how Manmohan Singh showered Arunachal Pradesh with Central government-funded developmental projects worth $ 2.5 billion.
After detailing the schemes and projects announced by Manmohan Singh
for giving a major push to Arunachal Pradesh’s infrastructural growth
story, the diplomat-writer of the cable gives her own prognosis of the
India-China relations and analyses the state of India-China boundary
dispute talks.
The relevant portion of the US diplomat’s analysis of India-China
relations in the wake of Manmohan Singh’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh is
as follows: “Singh’s trip to Arunachal Pradesh so soon after his visit
to China may be an indication that India’s border negotiations with
China are not going well and that the PM felt the need to shore up
India’s presence in the state. The visit apparently served several
goals, as: 1) a signal that India regards the state as strategic Indian
territory; 2) a reminder to China of India’s view on where the border
stands; and 3) a public promise that the GOI is committed to the people
of Arunachal Pradesh by developing the poor infrastructure and economy.
The lack of progress on border talks has led to an uneasy stalemate, as
both sides remain hesitant to finally settle the dispute and instead,
continue cross-border troop ‘incursions’.
India has left Arunachal Pradesh underdeveloped in the misguided hope
of having the mountainous state serve as a natural, physical buffer
against the Chinese. However, ethnically and geographically removed from
mainland India, Arunachalis may be feeling some growing bonds with
China as their awareness of greater development (and economic
opportunity) across the border increases. Therefore, Singh’s trip
reflects a belated recognition by India that it must pay greater
attention to Arunachal Pradesh or potentially face gradually losing the
state to China simply through its growing economic attraction.”
The American diplomat has put her finger right on spot by talking
about the shift in India’s policy towards its northeast as well as
China. India started focusing on development of the hitherto-ignored
border regions of the northeast in 2006. The then foreign secretary
Shyam Saran even visited the Indian North-East to make an on the spot
assessment of the ground situation in the border areas and what needed
to be done. Saran submitted his report to the prime minister after
returning from this visit, underlining urgent need to develop
infrastructure in regions in the northeast that border China.
The American diplomat has also got it right when it comes to the
changing policy of India vis a vis China. India had indulged in some
clever diplomatic symbolism in January 2011 when the then Chinese Prime
Minister Wen Jiabao visited India. In the customary Joint Statement at
the end of the visit, India refused to reiterate its commitment to One
China in an obvious tit-for-tat response to a host of irritants from
China.
This was perhaps the first time when India had taken such a bold
stand and conveyed to China in categoric terms that Beijing can no
longer take New Delhi for granted.
As far as the India-China boundary dispute is concerned, it has
failed to throw up any concrete results despite the two sides discussing
the issue at the upgraded level of Permanent Representatives. The only
concrete deliverable on the boundary dispute came almost a decade ago
when the two sides exchanged maps in the Central Sector. But that is
hardly an achievement as the Central Sector was least contentious
anyway.
Courtesy: firstpost.com
http://www.firstpost.com/world/leaked-us-cable-of-2008-points-to-shift-in-indias-china-policy-695596.html
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