New Delhi: Following the 23rd India-China Special Representatives’ talks, Beijing has said that National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister Wang Yi have agreed on a six-point consensus on an “acceptable package” to solve the border issue.
The second point of the Chinese statement harked back to a 2005 agreement between the two sides in New Delhi.
Multiple sources in the security and diplomatic establishment told ThePrint that even though China had signed the agreement, the neighbouring country immediately started violating it.
The sources said that the reason why China is now going back to the 2005 agreement was because it talked about delinking border issues from bilateral ties, something that Beijing has been wanting in the recent past and New Delhi has not been relenting.
Both Doval and Wang Yi, according to the Chinese statement Wednesday, “reaffirmed their commitment to continuing to seek a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable package solution to the border issue in accordance with the political guiding principles agreed upon by the two countries’ special representatives in 2005”.
Incidentally, the Indian statement does not mention any “six-point consensus”.
The 2005 agreement that China mentions was signed by the then Special Representatives after such a mechanism was set up in 2003. The Indian Special Representative, at that time, was then NSA M.K. Narayanan. The Chinese side was led by Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo.
The agreement was signed in Hindi, Chinese and English, and it was made clear that in case of any dispute, the English version will be considered as final.
The agreement had several key articles that both sides agreed upon, but violated multiple times subsequently by China.
According to the agreement, it serves the fundamental interests of the peoples of India and China to foster a long-term constructive and cooperative partnership on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, mutual respect and sensitivity for each other’s concerns and aspirations, and equality,
“Desirous of qualitatively upgrading the bilateral relationship at all levels and in all areas while addressing differences through peaceful means in a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable manner,” it read.
Every single Chinese intrusion since then into Indian territories, even if temporarily, was a violation of this agreement.
The signed agreement reiterated commitment to abide by and implement the Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China Border Areas, signed on 7 September 1993, and the Agreement on Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field along the LAC in the India-China Border Areas, signed on 29 November 1996.
It had noted that the two sides are seeking a political settlement of the boundary question in the context of their overall and long-term interests, and said that they were convinced that an early settlement of the boundary question will advance the basic interests of the two countries and should, therefore, be pursued as a strategic objective.
One of the main articles of the agreement was that the differences on the boundary question should not be allowed to affect the overall development of bilateral relations.
“The two sides will resolve the boundary question through peaceful and friendly consultations. Neither side shall use or threaten to use force against the other by any means. The final solution of the boundary question will significantly promote good neighbourly and friendly relations between India and China,” it had said.
The military intrusion by China into the Indian side of the LAC was a violation of this agreement, the sources in the defence and security establishment said.
India has made it clear that overall bilateral ties cannot improve till the 2020 status quo is maintained. This meant that ties cannot carry on like usual till the Chinese pull back their troops from forward locations.
China, however, has been in the recent past talking about delinking the LAC tensions from the overall bilateral relations.
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What 2005 agreement says
The 2005 agreement said that the two sides should, in accordance with the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question through consultations on an equal footing, proceeding from the political perspective of overall bilateral relations.
“Both sides should, in the spirit of mutual respect and mutual understanding, make meaningful and mutually acceptable adjustments to their respective positions on the boundary question, so as to arrive at a package settlement to the boundary question. The boundary settlement must be final, covering all sectors of the India-China boundary,” it had said.
The sources said that the main point of contention has been India’s claim over Aksai Chin and China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh, especially Tawang.
The agreement also said that the two sides will give due consideration to each other’s strategic and reasonable interests, and the principle of mutual and equal security.
India’s strategy of building up defences and infrastructure in Eastern Ladakh since 2009, the speed of which was scaled up during the Narendra Modi government, was seen by China as a violation of the understanding, according to the sources.
The agreement had said that the two sides will take into account, inter alia, historical evidence, national sentiments, practical difficulties and reasonable concerns and sensitivities of both sides, and the actual state of border areas.
“The boundary should be along well-defined and easily identifiable natural geographical features to be mutually agreed upon between the two sides.
“In reaching a boundary settlement, the two sides shall safeguard due interests of their settled populations in the border areas,” it said.
The sources explained that while they are not aware of the exact talks that were held back in 2005, the above article takes care of India’s assertion that Tawang is an Indian territory.
The agreement had also said that under the agreed framework of the final boundary settlement, the delineation of the boundary will be carried out utilising means such as modern cartographic and surveying practices and joint surveys.
“Pending an ultimate settlement of the boundary question, the two sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC and work together to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
“The India-China Joint Working Group and the India-China Diplomatic and Military Expert Group shall continue their work under the Agreements of 7 September 1993 and 29 November 1996, including the clarification of the line of actual control and the implementation of confidence building measures,” it had said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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