While the renewed focus on resolving the border dispute between India and China is very much welcomed, it is becoming quite obvious that there is an uneasy feeling and almost open distrust of each other when it comes to the core of their relations most notably on security issues. The two countries continue to put their respective claims and counter claims over territories even though both countries have held over 14 rounds of discussions on the border dispute. India’s faith in communist China has been shaken on numerous occasions in the past. However the latest suggestion in the form of an article posted on a quasi-official Chinese website, which boasted that the “great Indian federation” was ripe for dismemberment, is indeed very disturbing. Posted on April 8 on the website iiss.cn (International Institute for Strategic Studies), the article detailed a roadmap for breaking up India. According to the ‘suggestion’, to split India, China can bring into its fold countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, support Ulfa in attaining its goal for Assam’s independence, back aspirations of Indian nationalities like Tamils and Nagas, encourage Bangladesh to give a push to the independence of West Bengal and lastly recover the 90,000 sq km territory in southern Tibet, the write-up said.
While the article itself is almost bizarre and should be treated with contempt, there will be those within the security establishment in India worried given the long felt concern in India about Beijing’s real gameplan to achieve its political and military objectives. There has been another ‘suggestion’, this time by an expert pointing out that a “Nervous China may attack India by 2012”. And the latest misgiving is that China recently blocked at the UN, Indian attempts to proscribe Pakistani terrorists and also funding for Arunanchal Pradesh at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) besides, trying unsuccessfully to block a waiver for India at the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Given all these worrying assessment, whether they are true or false, the point we should note is that India and China are not natural allies.
But even then they will have to learn to live with each other. The lingering acrimony over most notably –China’s invasion of Tibet, the 1962 border war and open support for Pakistan, China’s territorial claims in NEFA (presently Arunachal Pradesh) and Ladakh (Aksai Chin), the revolt in Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s political asylum in India—should all be treated as a thing of the past and should not come in the way of forging mutual understanding to permeate relation between the two sides. Differences do not mean that the two Asian giants cannot learn to live together. And that should be the goal—to develop mutual respect and live as good neighbours because at the end of the day peace and development of Asia depends to a large extent on India and China working together. This is the clear and unambiguous message for both countries. As such both should renew their commitment to the “Shared Vision for the 21st Century” signed recently at the highest political level.
