05-26-2007, 09:44 PM
Difficulties in Sino-Indian ties come to fore
27 May, 2007 l 0039 hrs ISTlIndrani Bagchi & Saibal Dasgupta/TIMES NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI/BEIJING: The refusal of visa by China to an Arunachal IAS officer incident has raised questions about the "political parameters" worked out by the PM and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao in 2005 and the border talks which have gone through seven rounds. China is aware that India is simply not amenable to giving up populated areas, leave alone a state. But India's giant neighbour could be leveraging its position after construction of the Tibet railway and border roads.
The Chinese put down also makes it clear that ambassador Sun Yuxi's comments on Arunachal Pradesh last year were not as out of place as the government suggested. The government sought to brush Sun Yuxi's comments under the carpet, but the current imbroglio underlined difficulties in the India-China relationship despite the booming mutual trade celebrated in the recent report card released by the government.
Three days ago, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi returned 106 visa-stamped passports of the IAS officers with a note that the 107th, belonging to Arunachal Pradesh IAS official Ganesh Koyu, from the panchayati raj ministry in the state, did not need a Chinese visa because he was a citizen of China. According to sources, MEA officials tried to prevail upon the Chinese for the visa, but latter held firm.
ndia demarched the Chinese government on its refusal. But this was done quietly, in Beijing, while here the government ducked, preferring to stay silent. There was no response from MEA, while official sources merely referred to foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement in 2006 that Arunachal Pradesh was "an integral part of India".
On the political side, Left was also in a squeeze, given its traditional ambivalence on China. CPI national secretary D Raja said, "When the boundary talks are on, this is a provocation by the Chinese." The CPM did not comment. The Marxists, who have been critical of the government's plans to train officers at US universities, find themselves in a spot when it comes to criticising China and commenting on its claims to Arunachal Pradesh.
The incident is no mere diplomatic snub. It has created a loud discordant note in bilateral relations. There's no point blaming China, said analysts, because it was merely fulfilling a domestic claim. This is not the first time such a visa refusal has happened in the last few years.
Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang was denied a visa a few years ago. In April, three other officials and an MLA from Arunachal Pradesh were denied visas again on the same grounds â that they did not need visas to visit their own country.
China clearly wants to focus Indian attention on the dispute of Arunachal Pradesh. If until now the Arunachal Pradesh issue was seen to be part of the larger boundary settlement negotiations, Chinese intractability may well harden Indian and Chinese positions. The Indian government will be under pressure to reveal what it has discussed with China.
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27 May, 2007 l 0039 hrs ISTlIndrani Bagchi & Saibal Dasgupta/TIMES NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI/BEIJING: The refusal of visa by China to an Arunachal IAS officer incident has raised questions about the "political parameters" worked out by the PM and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao in 2005 and the border talks which have gone through seven rounds. China is aware that India is simply not amenable to giving up populated areas, leave alone a state. But India's giant neighbour could be leveraging its position after construction of the Tibet railway and border roads.
The Chinese put down also makes it clear that ambassador Sun Yuxi's comments on Arunachal Pradesh last year were not as out of place as the government suggested. The government sought to brush Sun Yuxi's comments under the carpet, but the current imbroglio underlined difficulties in the India-China relationship despite the booming mutual trade celebrated in the recent report card released by the government.
Three days ago, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi returned 106 visa-stamped passports of the IAS officers with a note that the 107th, belonging to Arunachal Pradesh IAS official Ganesh Koyu, from the panchayati raj ministry in the state, did not need a Chinese visa because he was a citizen of China. According to sources, MEA officials tried to prevail upon the Chinese for the visa, but latter held firm.
ndia demarched the Chinese government on its refusal. But this was done quietly, in Beijing, while here the government ducked, preferring to stay silent. There was no response from MEA, while official sources merely referred to foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement in 2006 that Arunachal Pradesh was "an integral part of India".
On the political side, Left was also in a squeeze, given its traditional ambivalence on China. CPI national secretary D Raja said, "When the boundary talks are on, this is a provocation by the Chinese." The CPM did not comment. The Marxists, who have been critical of the government's plans to train officers at US universities, find themselves in a spot when it comes to criticising China and commenting on its claims to Arunachal Pradesh.
The incident is no mere diplomatic snub. It has created a loud discordant note in bilateral relations. There's no point blaming China, said analysts, because it was merely fulfilling a domestic claim. This is not the first time such a visa refusal has happened in the last few years.
Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang was denied a visa a few years ago. In April, three other officials and an MLA from Arunachal Pradesh were denied visas again on the same grounds â that they did not need visas to visit their own country.
China clearly wants to focus Indian attention on the dispute of Arunachal Pradesh. If until now the Arunachal Pradesh issue was seen to be part of the larger boundary settlement negotiations, Chinese intractability may well harden Indian and Chinese positions. The Indian government will be under pressure to reveal what it has discussed with China.
Related Stories
India red-faced as China gets tough
The world is looking at India, China: Dai
Why China can, and we won't
Peace pipeline to China?
Trade war: China trounces India 4-1