Will the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement, India and China signed in Beijing on Wednesday, end repeated Chinese intrusions into Indian territory? China expert Srikanth Kondapalli explains why he is not hopeful
Against the backdrop of recent Chinese incursion in Ladakh External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Saturday said the two countries are working on a new Border Defence Cooperation Agreement.
Two Chinese helicopters entered Indian territory in Uttarakhand on two occasions in April and June after which the Army launched protests with the Chinese Army, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
A new Border Personnel Meeting point was on Saturday operationalised at Daulat Beg Oldie along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh sector, which would serve as the northern-most meeting point between armies of India and China.
China on Tuesday dismissed reports of fresh incursions by its troops into India as "routine patrolling" and asserted that both countries have a very effective and smooth mechanism to handle border incidents.
Against the backdrop of recent incursions by the Chinese troops, India and China on Saturday held a flag meeting in eastern Ladakh where the Indian side is understood to have raised concerns over detention of its nationals by the People's Liberation Army.
In a rare honour, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would visit and address China's ruling Communist Party's Central School during his visit in Beijing next week besides holding in-depth talks with Chinese leaders.
Operationalisation of a new border defence agreement to deal with recurring troop incursions along the LAC besides improving defence ties, is expected to top the agenda of General Bikram Singh as he starts a rare visit by an Indian army chief to China from Wednesday.
Around 20 Chinese soldiers last week entered Indian territory near the Line of Actual Control and pitched their tents in Chepzi area in Ladakh, sources said on Sunday. Around 20-22 Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers had last week pitched around 8-10 tents in the west of Chepzi in Ladakh area, the sources said.
"Don't expect miracles in resolving the issue. What we are trying is that till a satisfactory solution on boundary issue is found, whenever incidents take place on border, through discussions and official mechanism, resolve those issues. Of late, we have been able to resolve the issues without much delay. That is an improvement," Defence Minister AK Antony said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Beijing on Tuesday on a three-day visit during which India and China are expected to ink several key pacts, including an agreement on a mechanism to prevent incursions by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control.
China has reacted cautiously to India's proposal for the establishment of mountain strike corps along the Sino-Indian border, while the official media in Beijing ignored the development.
For the first time, the Chinese military on Thursday acknowledged last year's incursion at the DepsangValley in Ladakh region and said such incidents occurred due to different perception about the Line of Actual Control.
Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who is in China on a four-day official visit, on Thursday held talks with People's Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Fang Fenghui in Beijing.
'Leaders of the two nations have reportedly agreed to set up a hotline between their respective military headquarters,' state-run Global Times daily reported on Wednesday.
Kicking off his four-day visit, General Suhag met General Li Zuocheng, the head of China's ground forces which have undergone major restructuring in the last three years.
India is concerned about periodic provocative incursions by Chinese troops that have resulted in "eyeball-to-eyeball confrontations", but was hopeful that the border issues will eventually be settled.
China on Monday said Defence Minister A K Antony's visit Beijing has given both countries an opportunity to enhance their "strategic cooperative partnership" and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas through increased military-to-military coordination.
Playing down the continuing standoff at the Ladakh border region, China's military on Thursday said such incidents are "sometimes inevitable" but the situation is under "effective control" with the joint efforts of the two sides.
Setting up Chinese Industrial Parks in India, increased access to Indian products to bridge the ballooning trade deficit besides border issues was expected to figure in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that commitment by Indian and Chinese leaderships to maintain peace and tranquillity at borders pending boundary settlement is an important guarantor for further progress in Sino-Indian ties, particularly growth of 2.5 billion people.
Against the backdrop of recent incursions by Chinese troops into India, the two countries are working to conclude a new border defence agreement with an aim of signing it when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh travels to Beijing possibly in October.
China wants a code of conduct for troops on the India-China border areas. While the Indian side has reacted cautiously, it is not clear what effective additional protocols that the current proposed code will bring forth to usher stability in the border areas, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
India provides an intrinsic and important link between the developing and the developed world, and maintains a distinct relationship with the United States and China on individual basis, says External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.
With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA several kilometres inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.
Carrying a message of "peaceful cooperation" from his President for the new Prime Minister, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday exuded confidence that both the countries have the capabilities to deal properly with the contentious issues such as boundary dispute.
'China physically occupies about 45,000 sq km of J&K as claimed by India, including 3,000 sq km captured in the 1962 War and never returned; and 5,180 sq km ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963.' 'It is hard to justify remaining silent about the return of China occupied Ladakh,' observes Ajay Shukla.
The 16th round of India-China border talks will be held in Beijing on June 28 followed by the visit of Defence Minister A K Antony a week later as the two countries are set to resume top level contacts to build on the recent visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to New Delhi.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement with China needs closer scrutiny, says Rup Narayan Das.
India and China decided to seek a fair and rational solution to their border dispute on Saturday as they focused on the proposed border defence cooperation agreement to avert incursions like the one witnessed in Leh region last month.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement inked between India and China on Wednesday facilitates establishment of a hotline between the military headquarters of the two countries, besides border personnel meeting sites in all sectors receiving broad directive not to tail each others' patrols along the disputed borders.
Virtually defending the latest incursion by the People's Liberation Army in the Chumar sector in Ladakh, China on Thursday said its troops were patrolling on its side of the Line of Actual Control and asserted that "status quo" should not be changed pending a final settlement.
India and Russia are involved in talks to sort out the nuclear liability issues before they sign an agreement for setting up Units III and IV of the Kudankulam power plant in Tamil Nadu during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's annual summit with President Putin in Moscow next week.
"Our worry is that a small mistake, an accidental exchange of fire at night, might lead to an unintended escalation," a senior officer confessed
'Problems will keep recurring unless China vows to resolve all outstanding issues between the two sides,' says Sana Hashmi.
China on Tuesday said border talks with India have yielded "initial results", enabling the two neighbours to properly handle their differences over the vexed boundary issue and maintain peace along the frontier.
China on Monday said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-day visit from Tuesday is of great importance for deepening strategic partnership amid expectations that the two sides would sign some key pacts, including one to prevent incursions along the LAC.
'Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have gone beyond the cautious approach usually advocated by the tightly-knit 'China group' in the ministry of external affairs in dealing with Beijing.'
'Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have gone beyond the cautious approach usually advocated by the tightly-knit 'China group' in the ministry of external affairs in dealing with Beijing.'
However, Denmark said it is difficult to conclude on the real intention behind this.
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