Round The World

New Delhi, 29 November 2012

India-China Map Controversy

CORE ISSUES VITAL, NOT ECONOMICS!

By Monish Tourangbam

Associate Fellow, Observer Research Foundation

China has poked India at the wrong place, namely the border issue, yet again. Whereby, Beijing issued e-passports which included watermark Chinese maps showing Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as parts of China recently. In a tit-for-tat and rather befitting response to this untimely and needless move, New Delhi has begun issuing visas to Chinese with India’s map illustrating both areas as an integral parts of its territory. Underscoring, the complex and many-sided nature of India-China relations.

Pertinently, the map controversy broke out on the eve of the 2^nd India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue held recently in New Delhi to take ties forward.  Wherein the Planning Commissions of both countries signed 11 MoUs worth $5billion and took steps to correct the current trade imbalance in China’s favour. In fact, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon is soon to visit Beijing for the next round of boundary talks with his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo.

Undoubtedly, this diplomatic one-upmanship by China is not surprising but should be seen as an outgrowth of its strategic behaviour due to its rising power parameters. And, this is not the first time that Beijing has reminded New Delhi that any bonhomie on the economic front would not result in China softening its stand on the intractable boundary issue.

Recall, in recent times, China has often rattled diplomatic ties with India by issuing stapled visas to Jammu and Kashmir’s domiciles by calling it a “disputed territory” and denying visas to those belonging to Arunachal Pradesh.  Indeed, such ambiguous visa policies have clearly muddied waters as far as sober border talks and normal confidence building measures are concerned. 

Beijing has been deliberately making its visa policy inconsistent to unsettle Indian policy minds and give characteristic diplomatic messages of its lingering differences with New Delhi on matters of core interest. In the past, the Chinese Government had refused a visa to the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen B S Jaswal on the grounds that his jurisdiction included J&K. 

Importantly, the protracted border dispute between the two Asian giants has defined much of how both feel about each other at the core. Notwithstanding, that during the recent strategic economic dialogue, both sides aspired to increase the bilateral trade from $74 billion to $100 billion, to make it more balanced as also setting up a new mechanism to increase Chinese investments in India, specially in railways and power.

But as Indian and Chinese leaders loudly proclaim the new synergy between the two countries over economic issues, the new bonhomie has failed to translate into new confidence as far as core issues are concerned. Actually, the increasing economic ties between the two countries might serve as deterrence against differences escalating to conflicts.

Bluntly, the row over maps carried in Chinese passports highlight that economics alone cannot resolve major sore points; that market forces of demand and profit do not encompass issues of geography and history that needs a different track approach.

Besides, the recent Chinese diplomatic gamble shows a lack of respect and recognition of the gravity of the issues for New Delhi. As expected India quickly retort on the issue. Asserted, Foreign Minister Salman Khursid, “We are not prepared to accept this. We, therefore, ensure that our flags of disagreement are put out immediately when something happens. We can do it in an agreeable way or you can do it in a disagreeable way,” he added.

Predictably, the Chinese tried to put the ball in India’s court with its Foreign Ministry spokesperson commenting that that the matter should be dealt with in a “level headed and rational manner” to avoid “unnecessary disruptions” to people to people exchanges.

Happily for India, this time round the Chinese Government has managed to irk South East Asian countries. Many of which have, in recent times, increasingly differed with China on maritime issues, specifically over contesting claims in the South China Sea. Whereby, Chinese e-passports show maps with nine dots indicating the disputed parts of the South China Sea as part of China.

Apparently taking inspiration from the Chinese issuing stapled visas to J&K residents, Vietnam is issuing visas for Chinese passport holders on separate paper, to counter the Chinese move. According to diplomatic sources, there is a concern that stamping visas on these passports would amount to tacitly accepting China's claims over the areas. The Philippines have also protested against the Chinese action.

Certainly, Beijing’s aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea has become a matter of great concern for not only South East Asian countries, but also for India and the US which favour transparency and freedom of navigation in the region.

As the recent ASEAN Summit in Cambodia indicated, diplomatic wrangling over this issue has opened up fissures within the ASEAN as well. Vietnam and Philippines who are wary of Chinese designs in the region have objected to Cambodia’s bilateral understanding with China which, they believe, goes against the ASEAN norm of resolving disputes as a unit.

Unquestionably, China has deep economic links with all major countries in the region but economic ties including with India have not translated into better understanding on issues of strategic importance. Add to this, tensions over the East China Sea particularly over a group of islands called Senkaku in Japanese (Diaoyu in Chinese) which are claimed by both China and Japan.

Beijing, does not subscribe to its own narrative of the ‘Peaceful Rise of China’ by indulging in needless instigations like the passport controversy.

Further, speculations abound regarding the implications of the leadership transition in China specifically what it portends for India-China relations. But, Beijing, with these maps in its passports, might be sending feelers that ‘it will be more of the same’ when it comes to core territorial and maritime issues.

In sum, definitely international politics if not Sino-centric, has been influenced by the rise of China more than any other factor. And, by dint of geography, India and China will always be strange bedfellows, with obligations to cooperate on many things, but with lingering differences over core issues of interest.

The rise of China across a broad spectrum of power parameters is indisputable but the international community is concerned as to what kind of Beijing they will see in future.

True, diplomatic efforts will gradually downplay the passport row so as to circumvent this irritant from inflicting a larger damage on other components of India-China ties. But at the same it should be made plain that India is not ready to compromise on sensitive territorial issues for the sake of furthering Sino-Indian economic relations! ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)