China and India signed an agreement on Tuesday to set up a working mechanism to better handle disputes on their contentious shared border.
The agreement was signed during an Indian governmental delegation’s visit to China, which was suppose to occur last November but was delayed by Beijing in protest of New Delhi’s decision to host the Tibetan freedom leader the Dalia Lama.
The pact on Tuesday- entitled the India-China Agreement on the Establishment of a Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs- was signed by China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin and Indian Ambassador to China S. Jaishankar in the presence of India's National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo.
It does not settle the “boundary issue” but commits both countries to working to solve the issue at an early date. In the meantime it sets up a working mechanism to foster communication between the two countries in an effort to maintain peace and tranquility. According to the text of the agreement, the working mechanism will be headed by a Joint Secretary level official from India’s Ministry of External Affairs and a Director General level official from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs with other diplomatic and military officials from both countries.
Besides dealing with border issues when they arise, the agreement calls for the working mechanism to hold consultations once or twice a year to be held alternatively in India and China. It also says that emergency consultations can be called at any time when both sides consent.
The shared border has been a historical source of animosity between India and China. Differing accounts over the where the border lay served as the proximate cause of the 1962 Indo-Sino War. The war was brief and ended when China unilaterally withdrew. The border issue has led to low-level skirmishes sporadically in the years since.
Throughout the 1980’s the two sides held numerous negotiations in an effort to resolve the question. It wasn’t until the early 1990’s that progress on the issue was forthcoming, however. As part of a larger rapprochement between Beijing and New Delhi, the two countries signed the Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility Along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas in September 1993. Follow up agreements were also inked in 1996 and 2005.
Although the issue was seemingly resolved, renewed skirmishes have occurred during the last half decade as the each country’s rapid rise appears to be stoking historically tensions. Last year proved to be especially rocky for Indo-Sino relations as the two countries might, or might not have, squared off in the high seas. Regardless of whether this particularly incident took place India has been strengthening its ties to East Asian nations that are also wary of China’s growing assertiveness, including Japan and Vietnam. Similarly, the first U.S.-India-Japan triangular meeting was held in Washington and, while not officially acknowledged, the forum was spurred by China’s rise.
Comments