With 2014 marked as the Chinese New Year of the Horse, India and China have galloped together into taking new strides in their bilateral relations. As with the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the “Panchsheel” Agreement in 2014, both the Republic of India and the People’s Republic of China surged into the ‘Year of Friendly Exchanges’. In their mutual efforts to build the bonhomie, a constructive endeavour had been made with the ‘17th round of the Border Talks’ on their 4000 km disputed boundary after the upsurge in territorial tensions in recent times. The relations have entered a new phase with the change in India’s political leadership in May 2014, equated with China’s proactive interest to engage with India. As with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s two-day high-level visit to New Delhi in early June, to earnestly engage with the new Narendra Modi Government, both countries have agreed to finally settle the boundary predicament. With the progress of the diplomatic talks, both India and China have consistently emphasized building defence ties – as preventive measures to avoid any tensions that create a trust deficit. Thereby, it can be said that although the talks have failed to reach a definite solution, they have fairly succeeded in maintaining the status-quo on the contested border.
The relations between India and China have predominantly been defined in the fixed contours of their protracted border issue. In the aftermath of the 1962 India-China war, the relationship faced an interregnum of complete stalemate at the level of state-level interactions. The historical underpinnings of the contested borders have resulted in a prolonged trust deficit that tends to create an imbalance in their relations. Though the tensions and disputes over the border issue have been a persistent irritant in the bilateral relations, the two countries have demonstrated a strong political will to resolve the intractable boundary question peacefully. The commonality of interests at the bilateral, regional and global levels has made it a prerequisite for both India and China to have a stable and peaceful border. In this mutual effort to maintain peace and tranquillity as well as to achieve a peaceful resolution of the boundary issue in the foreseeable future, the most important step forward has been the policy of negotiations that have been adopted in the framework of “Border Talks.”
There is a consensus on both the Indian and Chinese sides that ‘peace’ along the border is the essential condition that lays the foundation of consultation. Thereby, conforming to this principle, both sides have made efforts to uphold this guiding philosophy in the path to reach a final settlement. Though there have been episodes of tensions along the India-China border, it is worth mentioning that despite political tensions, this border has managed to remain relatively stable and peaceful over the decades since the conclusion of the 1962 war. Exemplary to this is the April 2013 Depsang valley incident, in which both Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a three-week long standoff at Depsang in Ladakh, along the western sector of the disputed border. What is surprising to note is that though the territorial tensions have caused temporary friction in the relations, it has not stalled the negotiation process so far. This can be attributed to the realisation on both sides that the bilateral ties in any field could not progress unless there is mutual assurance on either side to ensure peace and stability along the border.
This pacifism has become the most significant factor in defining the bilateral relations where both India and China have succeeded in maintaining the territorial status-quo amidst the futile acts of episodic incursions and intrusions. This feature can be seen in their convergence of interests to settle the boundary issue with rationality. Mutual intention to maintain peace and tranquillity along the disputed border exists as it serves as the cornerstone of their expanding bilateral relationship. And in this regard the border negotiation process has provided the two countries with the platform to carry forward the peace process that needs to be mutually accommodative and beneficial, making it a win-win situation rather than a zero-sum game of relative gains.
With its progress to the 17th round of border negotiations in 2014, the impetus of this dialogue process was set forth by the fifth meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs held in February, which reviewed the recent developments in the border areas, with special focus on the western sector in order to resolve consistent problems in patrolling.This mechanism was set up two years ago in order to improve the communication and address the ground issues that destabilise the border. The two-day border talks between the Special Representatives of India and China in New Delhi occurred during 10-11 February 2014, with the common goal of building closer and stronger ties between the two Asian neighbours. The dialogue was led by India’s the then National Security Advisor, Shiv Shankar Menon and the Chinese State Councillor, Yang Jiechi, in order to bring about amicable settlement to disputes and tensions along the border. The crux of the border talks was premised on minimizing the use of force along parts of the disputed border, and protecting civilian lives. At the core of this dialogue process was the agenda of implementing the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA), which was signed during the former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Beijing in October 2013.
At the 17th round of border negotiations, the main issues of focus were first, to assess and analyse the military stand-offs along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that brought a sudden friction on the longstanding peaceful border particularly in the event of the Depsang incident of April 2013; and secondly, to bring into action the BDCA to thwart any such accidental events in the future that disturb the status quo, thereby acting as a reconciliatory measure to build further peace. Apart from the territorial border issue, the Special Representatives of India and China also laid emphasis on issues of mutual concern such as counter-terrorism, disarmament and maritime affairs, trade, finance and climate change, as well as regional and international issues like cooperation in the East Asia Summit, and Afghanistan. In this way, the border talks have expanded in their vision and approach.
In assessing the implications of the border talks, it can be said that though the border talks since 2003 have not led to any remarkable outcomes, yet it has succeeded in making some progress in the boundary settlement process albeit at a very slow pace. India and China have crossed the first stage where both have reached the agreement to settle the boundary question. The second stage, which has been on building the “framework for resolution of the boundary question,” has been evolving for the past eight years. Only after drawing the “framework” will the two sides be able to proceed to the third stage of the talks that entails “demarcation on maps of any framework agreement and a delineation on the ground”.
The 17th round of border talks also hold significance in terms of being the first high-level meeting after the exchange of visits by Premier Li Keqiang to New Delhi in May 2013 followed by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Beijing in October 2013. This has been followed further by the recent diplomatic visit by the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during 8-9 June 2014 in order to build ties with the newly elected government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These high-level interactions have paved a new course for India-China relations. China has expressed a keen interest for a final settlement of the border dispute, at least on paper. India under Modi is expected to strike a balance between economics and border security. Thereby, it can be stated that these consecutive high-level interactions have played a role of strategic importance in building bilateral relations, as both countries seem to hold a significant value to the relationship.
On the whole, it can be said that even in the journey to the 17th round of talks, India and China have not been able to achieve any remarkable progress since 2005, when the two countries signed the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question, which has rather transformed itself into a long-term boundary predicament. In this pretext, it can be argued that as the India-China territorial border dispute has adopted a protracted nature since 1962, similarly, the negotiations also seem to be taking a long path to finally arrive at a firm resolution. This is because with the negotiations still at their unfolding stage and not resulting ina constructive outcome, it has become difficult to predict a fixed deadline towards settling the protracted boundary question. The border talks have thus become a mechanism of conflict management rather than that of conflict resolution.
The only progress that has been made so far is in the mutual efforts of both India and China to reach a solution through dialogue. This dialogue process has contributed in gradually easing tensions and building trust in the relationship, which has been highly plagued by a deficit of trust. For example, the three-week standoff that brought India and China on the brink of a conflict in April 2013, which was peacefully resolved by May 5, 2013, brought all the mutual suspicions and distrust on to the forefront and thereby, led to the failure of the problem-solving mechanisms that had been put in place to prevent and defuse border tensions.Thereby, the 17th round of border talks came at the opportune time when the focus of both parties was centred on rebuilding the ‘trust’ that got lost with the recent accidental standoffs, shifting the focus to what Rup Narayan Das calls “effective border management rather than seeking resolution of the issue”.
In this view, the “border talks” as a problem-solving mechanism of mutual negotiations between the Special Representatives of India and China have bestowed a new dimension to India-China relations. There is a strong mutual commitment on either side to resolve the boundary quandary by transforming the prolonged conflict and building long term peace – byseeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution to the longstanding bone of contention. The characteristic feature of this problem-solving mechanism is its steady progress without being obstructed by any political dissonance.
Thus, with the differences and contentions, both India and China have been able to handle the problem in the most appropriate and rational manner. Despite the accidental stand-offs, the principle of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border has been upheld, setting an example of a stable border without any incident of firing. With this amicable posture, both the countries have climbed the initial step to success by maintaining the political status-quo. In this way, India and China’s strong commitment to resolve the issue peacefully through the mechanism of negotiation, has translated the “border talks” into an important confidence building measure between the two rising Asian giants. Therefore, it can be said that though a final settlement looks like a far-reaching dream, the pragmatic problem-solving mechanism in the form of border talks along with the leadership interest on either side to reach a final settlement have set the pillars of strategic trust, which is the need of the hour in order to enhance India-China relations. Although it is tough to envision how the final resolution will be shaped but it can be stated that with the progress in talks, the ultimate settlement rarely seems to be an absolute gain, whereby, the relativity will be contingent on the bargaining tactics of each side.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are personal.
Amrita Jash, Doctoral Research Scholar, Centre for East Asian Studies (Chinese Division), School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
