India, China border talks stuck at Tawang

India-China border talks have hit a roadblock over Beijing’s claim to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which has one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in the region.

The boundary negotiations are stuck on this since 2007, with little chance of differences dissolving when national security adviser MK Narayanan begins the next round of talks with Chinese vice-foreign minister Dai Bingguo in Delhi on Friday.

The Chinese claim the entire Arunachal as theirs and believe the Macmohan Line, which was the border imposed by the British, overlooked Beijing’s claim to territory traditionally held by them. The constant public claim that Beijing makes on Arunachal is a maximalist position to snatch the monastery town of Tawang from India in the final settlement.

The sixth Dalai Lama, China points out, was born in Tawang, and the monastery town had to be given back to the Buddhists of Tibet.

Ironically, in claiming Tawang for its Buddhist shrine, the Chinese say they are doing it for their Tibetan population. But the Tibetans, including their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, have never asked for it.

India has made it clear that while arriving at a final settlement of the border dispute, there must be no exchange of territory in populated areas. Tawang has around 20,000 people, all of whom are Indian citizens. Prime minister Manmohan Singh has publicly made the point that only uninhabited areas can be exchanged.

The Chinese are adamant that the phrase “due intent of the population along the border” is being misrepresented by India.

An agreement on political parameters and guiding principles for settlement of the boundary dispute was signed when prime minister Wen Jiabao was in Delhi in April 2005.

India is now citing clauses from the agreement which says populated areas should not be a part of the exchange of territory to be made for a compromise solution to the dispute.

“The two sides will now have to bridge the gap on the understanding of the political parameters before there can be a forward movement,” a senior Indian official said.

Long time China-watchers, such as Alka Acharya of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, are not surprised by Beijing’s attitude. “The border negotiations have now come to the nitty-gritty of territorial exchanges. It is common practice for countries engaged in such complex talks to reiterate their positions…it helps to take a maximilist public position and drum up claims outside the closed doors. These are acknowledged tactics. India can do the same and lay claim to the whole of Aksai Chin,” Acharya said.