Apr 16, 2015

India-China integration and cooperation, full steam ahead.

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India and China have been good friendly neighbors for 5000 years, of warless co-existence.

Both nations have shone, and achieved greatness, without threatening the other.

There is no reason why this equilibrium and harmony should not continue into the 21st century.

In 1337, as part of his Qarachai campaign to spread Sunni Islam, ( and get war booty) Mohammad Tughlaq invaded China via Tibet, against much opposition in India....where an enormous expeditionary force of 400,000 had been amassed for the Near East, Central Asia and Chinese campaigns. 100,000 of that force amassed in Delhi was sent against China. It was soundly beaten by Chinese-mongol forces, due to the lack of preparations, skills, training and logistics of the Tughlaq forces.

500 years later an ascendent Sikh State centered around the Punjab annexed Ladakh and confronted the Chinese Empire. General Zorawar Singh (1786-1841) led an army of 5000 into Eastern Tibet. The dispute was settled quickly and the Treaty of Chushul was signed in 1842 maintaining the status quo ante bellum.

Then sadly there was the 1962 war. Lasted 2 weeks, India soundly defeated. Could have got a lot uglier if not for the silent Soviet intervention on the Indian side. Again the Indian military under funded and unprepared. The Indian airforce was not allowed to be used as Nehru and Menon felt that would upset the Chinese. Lets keep it a high altitude foot force fight..as it were.

Who should be blamed for this? Mao for building roads and infrastructure in Indian territory, or Nehru with his hot/cold messages to China, sending Indian military units into the Korean War on the American side, and criticizing Chinese incursions into India, but at the same time for his lack of trust in the armed forces not bolstering the defenses in the critical areas? Along with Krishna Menon, and defense minister.

The Chinese say Arunchal Pradesh belongs to China....because it was once part of Tibet, inhabited by Tibetan people. And since Tibet proper belongs to China then......This is an interesting legal argument. The British Empire, consolidating India's Northern borders decided in 1914 that Arunachal Pradesh should belong to British administered India for geo-political reasons, geographic, strategic and economic reasons.

The McMahon Line is a line agreed to by Britain and Tibet as part of the Simla Accord, a treaty signed in 1914. It is the effective boundary between China and India, although its legal status is disputed by the Chinese government. Wikipedia

The Chinese do not recognize the Simla Accord as they do not recognize the Chinese government which signed the accord in 1914. Though it should be mentioned the Chinese government did respect the status of Macao and Hong Kong signed by the Manchu Qing Imperial government, and European Colonial powers.

What is the legal claim of China to Inner Mongolia, inhabited by non Han people?

What is the legal claim of China to Sinkiang province, inhabited by non Han people?

What is the legal claim of China to Tibet province, inhabited by non Han people?

Because China conquered these territories previously? Because China has the military power to occupy them?

Relations with China would be a lot stronger if China stopped giving Failed State PAKISTAN LETHAL WEAPONS which are aimed at India.

Nobody can believe that basket weaving beggar PAKISTAN has the industrial base to produce warships, FGA's, tanks, ballistic missiles and so forth.
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China praises Modi's leadership, sees likely resolution of border dispute

By Times of India and PTI
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BEIJING: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit here next month, China on Wednesday said the border dispute has "good prospects" of resolution if it is backed by "strong political will" from both sides.

Huang Xilian, deputy director general of Asian affairs, said Beijing wants India and China to act as a "bridge" for the development of Nepal and Sri Lanka so as to reduce strategic rivalry between the two Asian giants and firm up their strategic influence in the region.
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"There are lot of perceptions about border issue. So long as the two leaderships have strong political will we have good prospects for the resolution of the border issue," Huang said at a briefing to Indian media about Modi's visit which is expected to take place in the third week of next month.

Huang stated that progress has been made in recent Special Representatives (SR) talks held in New Delhi.

"We believe that the two SRs will continue to carry on this process according to the consensus reached by the two leaders," he said in reply to a question as to whether China is open for a resolution of the border dispute based on status quo.

READ ALSO: 'China's border violations reduced'

Border dispute: India, China take positive steps

China says the border dispute is confined only to 2,000km mostly in Arunachal Pradesh whereas India asserts that the dispute covered the western side of the border spanning to about 4,000 km, especially the Aksai Chin area annexed by China in 1962 war.

The two sides have held 18 rounds of talk and expectations are high on both sides as both Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were regarded as strong leaders who could clinch a solution.

"We have a very long border. You can see anywhere in the world there will be shooting crimes, but generally speaking, along the border we have maintained peace and stability, there have been no shooting incidents in the past decade. What is important is that both sides should work together to avoid such kind of incidents and promote tranquility and stability," he said.

READ ALSO: Indian Railways to build station near Chinese border, defence minister says

Praising the Indian Prime Minister's leadership, Huang said since "Modi took over, the whole international community has shown interest in India. We have seen the new momentum has been achieved in economic development." "Made in China and 'Make in India' can work together," he said.

"The new government introduced a lot of reforms and measures. We are happy to see the new momentum and hope that India will achieve progress in future and develop faster," Huang said adding that India's development will bring more opportunities to China and the region.

READ ALSO: India, China to hold joint military exercise in 2015, decision ahead of Modi visit

Hectic preparations are underway on both sides to make Modi's visit a success and Huang said a number of agreements were expected to be signed during the trip.