HH Dalai Lama's Tawang visit!

nimo_cn

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Government policy doesn't have to reflect the will of the people, especially on foreign policy.

That is why we have a government. Majority decision is not always the right decision.
Yes, i agree.
But we should respect the decision the govenment have made, saying something that contradicts the official stance of the government can only undermine the credibility of the government, even the credibility of the country.
 

Flint

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Yes, i agree.
But we should respect the decision the govenment have made, saying something that contradicts the official stance of the government can only undermine the credibility of the government, even the credibility of the country.
Eh? No, I'm under no obligation to toe the government line. That's called freedom of speech.

How does it undermine the credibility of the government?
 

nimo_cn

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Eh? No, I'm under no obligation to toe the government line. That's called freedom of speech.
Not everything should be related to freedom, my friend. In China, we may not criticise government on internal issues as boldly as Indian people, but we have enough freedom to talk about foreign policy.

How does it undermine the credibility of the government?
When you choose a person to represent you, all the person have said represents what you say, even if it is not your real opinion. And in the public you cann't say something that contradicts what your representative have said, otherwise, who else will believe him, who else will believe you.
 

ZOOM

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If so many posters love free Tibet why don't you appeal to Indian government to free South Tibet as you call it AP? Is there any Indian unaware of that it is Tibetan area? In this case the Tibetans would have an autonomous government in Lasa and an independent government in Tawang, a quite good solution.
If this is the case then why doesn't original habitants of Tibets and their supports all over the world protesting to give AP an Independence? why does these Tibetens are silent?

Answer to their silence is very simple. They were considered AP or any other part of India as Part of Tibet.
 

Daredevil

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According to you, it is true that most Indian people don't agree with GOI on the Tibet issue. If so, why don't Indian people make the GOI change its stance on Tibet? I totally believe Indian people have the right to do that. No offence, i ask that question just out of curiosity.
Yes we can force our govt. to change its stance on Tibet but our people have immediate pressing issues of poverty, education and infrastructure that Tibet takes a back seat and in fact majority don't know about Tibet. Hopefully, when India is a developed country you can bet your last renminibi that people of India will force the government on Tibet issue if needed.
 

Singh

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Beyond India vs. China: The Dalai Lama's Agenda

In early April 1959, with some 50,000 Chinese soldiers scouring the mountains in search of him, the Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet into northeastern India. Beijing blamed him for fomenting an uprising among Tibetans, which the People's Liberation Army was then quashing. While foreign spies and correspondents filled up sleepy hill stations on the Indian side, the Dalai Lama took refuge in an old monastery, guarded by a detachment of Indian solders and a sect of 600 shaven-headed Buddhist monks. His brief sojourn at the 400-year-old monastery in the town of Tawang would be the first stop in a life of exile in India. This weekend, the Dalai Lama returns to Tawang — and Beijing is no less irked by his presence there now than it was six decades ago.

China claims the region where Tawang sits and the area surrounding it as a southern extension of Tibet, which Beijing rules; India has long maintained that the land, which comprises its northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, is an inalienable part of its territory. Tensions over the border dispute have flared recently, raising the specter of a budding rivalry between the two Asian giants who fought a brief, wintry war in 1962. Reports of troop buildups and border incursions have increased. A visit to the state by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in mid-October to campaign in local elections was cited by Beijing as an act of provocation. (See pictures of the Dalai Lama's 60 years of spiritual leadership.)

Now the Dalai Lama's trip, which his camp insists is simply to deliver teachings to his faithful, is further stoking Chinese ire. On Nov. 3, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman blasted the Tibetan leader-in-exile for his "separatist" activities. "The Dalai Lama often lies and often engages in acts to sabotage China's relations with other countries," said Ma Zhaoxu. New Delhi, sensing trouble, has barred foreign journalists from covering the event.

Ever since he fled the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, the Dalai Lama has lived as a guest on Indian soil, free to do as he pleases provided he refrains from directly antagonizing China. This is not the first time he has journeyed to Tawang from his seat in the north Indian town of Dharamsala. But in the wake of riots in Lhasa last year and amid the present frostiness over the Sino-Indian border, the visit has assumed a deeper political dimension.

The monastery at Tawang is one of the largest and oldest of the dominant Tibetan Gelupga sect and is near the home of Tsangyang Gyatso, the sixth Dalai Lama, born in 1683 — a leader particularly beloved by the Tibetans. As the present Dalai Lama (the 14th) ages, rumors grow that his successor may be tapped from this historic cradle of Tibetan Buddhism in a bid to preempt Beijing, which is almost certain to select its own Dalai Lama once the current one passes.

In Chinese eyes, the prospect of the Dalai Lama ginning up emotions and support in Tawang poses a challenge to its vision of dominion over all of Tibet. The boundary separating Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet — dubbed the McMahon Line — was drawn up by the colonial British and officials from Lhasa in 1914, an act of map-making that China to this day refuses to recognize. According to Beijing, Tawang and its surroundings were under the suzerainty of the Qing dynasty after its armies extended China's frontiers to Tibet and Central Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries. If Tibet is Chinese soil — something that New Delhi has officially recognized — then, the argument goes, Tawang and its monastery ought to be as well. (See pictures of the Dalai Lama at home.)

But the facts on the ground, experts say, do not fully support Beijing's claim. "China is trying to impose this idea of a coherent nation-state," says Gray Tuttle, professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University in New York. "But it is basing its claim on a premodern cultural world where there was nothing like a modern state." Not only was Chinese control over Tibet thin until the 1950s, but Tibetan rule over Tawang was nominal as well. Beyond the appointment of certain abbots in monasteries and the occasional payment of taxes to Lhasa, the people living there "did not see themselves as part of a broader empire, let alone a Chinese one," says Dibyesh Anand, an authority on the region and a professor of international relations at Westminster University in London.

Moreover, the ethnic group that inhabits this remote, mountainous part of the world, know as the Monpa, has always stood somewhat apart from the Tibetans of the plateau, despite sharing their religious and cultural outlook. In the days when political power was concentrated in Lhasa, Tibetans would look down upon the Monpa almost as if they were a tribe of southern barbarians. But after the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, the group on the margins found itself at the center of a hot spot, faced with the task of aiding compatriots who were fleeing the brutal Chinese crackdown in 1959. As a result, the Monpa in India aren't particularly keen to swap nationalities. "They all fear China for what it did during the Tibetan uprising," says Anand.

Still, as New Delhi asserts its sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, many locals complain of poor governance. Like other parts of India's periphery, development has been woeful: roads in the rugged terrain are poor and in many places nonexistent, the school system is dysfunctional, and some state officials are corrupt. The Indian military often monopolizes the region's functioning infrastructure for its own deployment and strategic ends, leaving the Monpa again sandwiched on the edge of latter-day empires.

The Dalai Lama's visit, says Anand, should be seen not as a gesture of defiance toward China nor a validation of democratic India but as an act of solidarity with a community that looks to him for guidance. For years he has pushed for dialogue with China and quietly sought autonomy for Tibet, but this purported "middle path" of peaceful advocacy has made little progress and has frustrated many younger Tibetans who are living in exile from their homeland. Now, suggest observers, the Dalai Lama may be thinking more of shoring up the Tibetan diaspora as it looks toward an uncertain future. "With him getting older, it makes sense to try to establish a long-term support network for Tibetans in exile," says Tuttle.

Meanwhile, border tensions around the monastery where the Dalai Lama found asylum 60 years ago continue to simmer. As neighbors and growing world powers, India and China are bound to have their differences, but, say analysts, it is in both countries' interests to move away from the icy, uncompromising positions where they are now entrenched. The possibilities for trade between India's northeast and China's southwest have barely been explored. "Indians and Chinese need to be more confident in their history," says Anand. "This is history, as you see in Tawang, which was more complicated, fluid and relaxed."

Dalai Lama's Tawang Trip Strains India-China Ties - TIME
 

Koji

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India Restricts Media on Visit by Dalai Lama

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/world/asia/06dalai.html?_r=1&ref=asia

By JIM YARDLEY
Published: November 5, 2009
NEW DELHI — The Indian government moved Thursday to restrict media coverage of the Dalai Lama’s trip next week to a disputed Himalayan region, a visit that has become a sore point between India and China at a time when diplomatic relations are already fraying between the Asian giants.

On Thursday, several foreign news organizations planning to cover the Dalai Lama’s visit to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh next week were told that travel permits approved earlier by the state government had been canceled by the central government in New Delhi. They included The New York Times.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia issued a statement saying it was “surprised and disappointed” by the decision and also by the failure of the central government to approve other applications.

“Despite numerous requests over the past few weeks, India’s central government has not granted a single foreign journalist permission to travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh during the Dalai Lama’s visit,” the press club said in a statement released on Thursday evening.

For weeks, the Dalai Lama’s trip, which is to begin on Sunday, has caused a diplomatic standoff between New Delhi and Beijing. The two countries have a longstanding border dispute, and China has become increasingly outspoken about its claims to sections of Arunachal Pradesh, a center of Tibetan Buddhism.

Indian officials were startled last month when China indirectly criticized the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, for visiting Arunachal during state elections. India swiftly responded that Arunachal was an “integral” part of India and that the visit was standard during elections.

However, the announcement that India would allow the Dalai Lama to visit a Tibetan monastery and christen a new hospital in Arunachal brought a much sharper condemnation from Beijing. Chinese leaders consider the Dalai Lama to be intent on splitting Tibet away from China, charges that the spiritual leader strongly denies. China, regarding the Dalai Lama’s visit to the region as deliberately provocative, called on India to cancel the trip.

After much discussion among opinion leaders, the Indian government restated its permission, calling it a religious, not political, trip. However, the ban on foreign media coverage may be a way of softening the blow for Beijing.

Officials in the spokesman’s office of India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not return repeated telephone calls.
 

hit&run

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India Restricts Media on Visit by Dalai Lama

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/world/asia/06dalai.html?_r=1&ref=asia

By JIM YARDLEY
Published: November 5, 2009
NEW DELHI — The Indian government moved Thursday to restrict media coverage of the Dalai Lama’s trip next week to a disputed Himalayan region, a visit that has become a sore point between India and China at a time when diplomatic relations are already fraying between the Asian giants.

On Thursday, several foreign news organizations planning to cover the Dalai Lama’s visit to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh next week were told that travel permits approved earlier by the state government had been canceled by the central government in New Delhi. They included The New York Times.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia issued a statement saying it was “surprised and disappointed” by the decision and also by the failure of the central government to approve other applications.

“Despite numerous requests over the past few weeks, India’s central government has not granted a single foreign journalist permission to travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh during the Dalai Lama’s visit,” the press club said in a statement released on Thursday evening.

For weeks, the Dalai Lama’s trip, which is to begin on Sunday, has caused a diplomatic standoff between New Delhi and Beijing. The two countries have a longstanding border dispute, and China has become increasingly outspoken about its claims to sections of Arunachal Pradesh, a center of Tibetan Buddhism.

Indian officials were startled last month when China indirectly criticized the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, for visiting Arunachal during state elections. India swiftly responded that Arunachal was an “integral” part of India and that the visit was standard during elections.

However, the announcement that India would allow the Dalai Lama to visit a Tibetan monastery and christen a new hospital in Arunachal brought a much sharper condemnation from Beijing. Chinese leaders consider the Dalai Lama to be intent on splitting Tibet away from China, charges that the spiritual leader strongly denies. China, regarding the Dalai Lama’s visit to the region as deliberately provocative, called on India to cancel the trip.

After much discussion among opinion leaders, the Indian government restated its permission, calling it a religious, not political, trip. However, the ban on foreign media coverage may be a way of softening the blow for Beijing.

Officials in the spokesman’s office of India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not return repeated telephone calls.
Thanks for this thread Koji, I will make sure to give this govt. answer by my vote; one thing.

The same question i arose on the issue of Dam on BP river that are we getting the right information? But to the likes of our Indian member/s i joined the party to downplay.

The other interesting point i would like to share that western media don't want to miss the chance of using India against chines sentiments. Same media in OZ was abusing India being a mighty nation licking a$$ of burmese dictators for the sake of neighbour brotherhood at the times of monk's agitations in Rangoon.

It is going to be interesting thread for Indian debaters to help GoI or i wont mind honest and wise thoughts pouring in here to explain how we dont want to jeopardise our relation with mighty china when tibetans are not interested in fighting against chines operation head on but playing safe and just rioting on streets only.
Thanks
 

Quickgun Murugan

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In China, what government have said counts, we will not say something that is inconsistent with the formal declaration of the government, especially when it comes to foreign policy.

So is that good or bad? You do not say anything against your government's policy for the love of the govt or the fear?

Also take that "free Tibet" feelings of "most" Indians with a pinch of salt. Most Indians responsible for voting a government into power do not care about tibet. They do not even know, where Tibet is in the map. All they care is about the fake election promises and perks which the politicians give them during election time.

I personally don't care if Tibet is free or not. But, when China has an ambiguous stance for Kashmir and Arunachal, that is where I feel India should also retaliate by taking stance on Tibet. For me, its more retaliatory than giving a damn about Tibet.
 

Koji

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So is that good or bad? You do not say anything against your government's policy for the love of the govt or the fear?

Also take that "free Tibet" feelings of "most" Indians with a pinch of salt. Most Indians responsible for voting a government into power do not care about tibet. They do not even know, where Tibet is in the map. All they care is about the fake election promises and perks which the politicians give them during election time.

I personally don't care if Tibet is free or not. But, when China has an ambiguous stance for Kashmir and Arunachal, that is where I feel India should also retaliate by taking stance on Tibet. For me, its more retaliatory than giving a damn about Tibet.
My opinion exactly. Tell this to LethalForce.
 

Flint

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I think GOI is trying to send a message to China. "We can help you if you cooperate". They have given a strong signal by very publicly "Letting" Dalai Lama visit Arunachal. At the same time, they are restricting media coverage in order to demonstrate to China that India is willing to cooperate if the Chinese do the same.
 

tarunraju

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I personally don't care if Tibet is free or not. But, when China has an ambiguous stance for Kashmir and Arunachal, that is where I feel India should also retaliate by taking stance on Tibet. For me, its more retaliatory than giving a damn about Tibet.
Arunachal is not part of Tibet. Why should we play the Tibet card when dealing with Arunachal? Taking a stance of Tibet is unnecessarily proving China's claim that since Arunachal is part of Tibet, it should be Chinese. They don't like Arunachal, that's their problem. Neither the people of Arunachal, nor those of the rest of the country give a flying F to Chinese claims. At the same time, it is every Indian's duty to protect the fate of the people and the lands of Arunachal. They are our countrymen, and those are our lands.
 

Pintu

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http://www.ptinews.com/news/365937_Tawang-ready-to-welcome-Dalai-Lama

Tawang ready to welcome Dalai Lama

STAFF WRITER 10:39 HRS IST

Sukhendu Bhattacharya

Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), Nov 7 (PTI) Nestled among the snow-capped mountains and perched at a height of 10,000 feet, picturesque Tawang is all set to welcome the Dalai Lama on his sixth visit to Arunachal Pradesh starting from tomorrow.

Colourful posters with pictures of the Tibetan spiritual leader and flags welcome visitors to the place, where the Dalai Lama had landed in 1959 after his escape from Tibet.

A security blanket has been thrown around the area, strategically located between - China and Myanmar, with the Tawang district administration making all efforts to ensure a peaceful visit of the leader whose visit has been resented by China which has laid claim to the sensitive border state of Arunachal Pradesh.
 

ppgj

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US supports Dalai Lama's Arunachal visit
TNN 7 November 2009, 02:46am IST

NEW DELHI: Just ahead of Dalai Lama's trip to Arunachal Pradesh, the US on Friday threw in its lot with the visit saying that as a "religious"
leader the monk was free to go anywhere. The US statement is in keeping with India's stated position that Dalai Lama, as a spiritual leader, can visit any part of the country and, in other words, implying that the Tibetan leader cannot carry out any political activity from Indian soil.

"The Dalai Lama is a religious leader and he, of course, can travel to carry out that role," said US undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs Maria Otero who is on a visit to India.

"He is visiting a monastery, a holy place. And from our perspective, this is one of the roles that he plays," she said when asked for her reaction to Chinese protest over the Tibetan leader's visit to Tawang from Sunday. She added that US President Barack Obama is likely to meet Dalai Lama later this year even though dates are yet to be finalised.

Otero said Obama would be visiting China this month and Tibet would certainly be one of the issues for discussion with Chinese leaders. "One can sense that this issue (Tibet) could be under consideration in some of those meetings with China. But again, I cannot absolutely confirm how it is or what it is, but there is no doubt that this is an issue that we have. I certainly have been addressing it. I think that probably something that will emerge," she said, adding that President Obama had a lot of respect and consideration for Dalai Lama.

Otero also said her country wanted greater strategic cooperation with India on global issues of human rights, environment, health and disaster management. These issues, Otero said, would be part of discussions between Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they meet in Washington later this month.

"The answer is yes. India's emission is 4% and we hope in the future there is some level of reduction. Every country needs to assume responsibility, as we see the threat of climate change," she said, replying to a question if US wanted India to bring down its carbon emission levels.

The US wants all countries to reduce their carbon emissions before the climate summit in Copenhagen. "The perspective of India on climate change, we already see, can have adverse consequences of droughts, heavy rainfall, and even flooding. It is clear, in India's strong benefit, to take into account some of these conditions," she said.

US supports Dalai Lama's Arunachal visit - India - The Times of India
 
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The Press Association: Crowds gather for Dalai Lama visit

Crowds gather for Dalai Lama visit

(UKPA) – 24 minutes ago

Thousands of devout Buddhists poured into a remote Indian mountain town, arriving in packed trucks or on foot after trekking for miles along narrow paths for a rare chance to glimpse the Dalai Lama.

The Tibetan spiritual leader's week-long visit to the town of Tawang near the Chinese border, has been mired in a diplomatic squabble -- highlighting the growing friction between Beijing and New Delhi.

The neighbours have been embroiled in a border dispute over the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh since 1962, and China has decried the visit and demanded that India stop it.

China regularly protests about the movements of the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of seeking Tibetan independence, and it is especially sensitive to the issue following deadly anti-government riots in the region last year.

But the spiritual leader's visit to Tawang is particularly galling in part because the town's proximity and close links to his native Tibet, which he fled 50 years ago when Chinese troops marched in.

New Delhi insists that the Dalai Lama, who has since lived in exile in India, is an honoured guest and free to visit any part of the country.

However, in an apparent effort to placate China, foreign journalists were barred from travelling to the restricted region.

In Tawang, political sparring seemed irrelevant as the local population prepared to welcome the man they revere as a living god -- his first visit here since 2003.

Many of those flocking to the town were poor villagers from surrounding areas and neighbouring countries who otherwise would be unable to see the Dalai Lama at his base in Dharmsala.

Despite temperatures already dropping below freezing and icy winds, dozens of young volunteers swept the streets in the centre of town while others sprinkled water to settle the clouds of dust. Roads leading from the helipad where the Dalai Lama is expected to land Sunday morning were festooned with colourful Buddhist prayer flags.
 

Rage

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If so many posters love free Tibet why don't you appeal to Indian government to free South Tibet as you call it AP? Is there any Indian unaware of that it is Tibetan area? In this case the Tibetans would have an autonomous government in Lasa and an independent government in Tawang, a quite good solution.

You're wrong son. You had better read carefully before you spit out that tat again:

http://www.indyalive.com/2009/09/china-has-no-command-to-stop-dalai-lamas-visit-to-arunachal

You may also want to visit the website of The Government of Tibet in exile to view what their stance on Arun'aachal Pradesh is.
 
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If so many posters love free Tibet why don't you appeal to Indian government to free South Tibet as you call it AP? Is there any Indian unaware of that it is Tibetan area? In this case the Tibetans would have an autonomous government in Lasa and an independent government in Tawang, a quite good solution.
good Idea,why don't we start this after China leaves China occupied Tibet.
 

Flint

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If so many posters love free Tibet why don't you appeal to Indian government to free South Tibet as you call it AP? Is there any Indian unaware of that it is Tibetan area? In this case the Tibetans would have an autonomous government in Lasa and an independent government in Tawang, a quite good solution.
Arunachal Pradesh is not a part of Tibet.
 

ppgj

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Paper no. 3493 8-Nov-2009

CHINA SMILES AT INDIA, US
By B.Raman

During the last one month or so, Chinese policy-makers have suffered two diplomatic set-backs-----one at the hands of India and the other at the hands of the US.

2. The diplomatic set-back at the hands of India relates to the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which the Chinese claim as their territory and refer to as Southern Tibet.For over 10 weeks, the Chinese Communist Party controlled media and spokespersons of the Chinese Foreign Office have maintained a high-profile campaign against the visit. The purpose of the campaign was to exercise pressure on the Government of India not to allow His Holiness to go to Arunachal Pradesh. The Government of India has declined to intervene in the matter and maintained the position that as a Buddhist leader, His Holiness was free to go anywhere in India so long as he does not indulge in any activities of a political nature. While Beijing tried to project the visit as part of His Holiness' political machinations to split Tibet from China, New Delhi politely, but firmly stuck to its stand that the visit was purely a spiritual one in his capacity as a highly venetrated leader of the Buddhists.

3.Now that China's high-profile media and diplomatic campaign against the visit has failed to produce results, the question is what next. Will the visit have a negative impact on Sino-Indian relations? Will it add to Sino-Indian cross-border tensions? Will China further step up the diplomatic and media pressure on India as it sought to do against France and some other European Union countries last year to pre-empt a movement for the boycott of the Beijing Olympics?

4.It will take time for clear-cut answers to these questions to emerge, but there are already some indicators to show that Beijing is keen not to allow its set-back to affect its over-all relationship with India. After a long time, the Party-owned "People's Daily" has come out on November 4,2009, with an unsigned article on Sino-Indian relations, which is refreshingly positive. The text of the article is annexed.

5. After reviewing the over-all relations, the article says: " Generally speaking, Sino-Indian relations witnessed smooth development over the past decades, but some pending issues and unnecessary misunderstanding have plagued bilateral ties. It is of vital importance to combat various pressures and challenges through collaboration. Media from both countries should play a constructive role, creating a healthy environment to facilitate public opinion. China and India, the two neighbors with the world's largest population, are forging ahead towards peace and development, which is the common wish of both leaders and people."

6.The diplomatic set-back at the hands of the US related to the Chinese demand that the Barack Obama Administration should hand over to China six Uighur detenus in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre against whom no evidence warranting their prosecution on terrorism-related charges could be found. The Chinese contended that these Uiighurs belonged to the Islamic Movement of Eastern Turkestan, which is an associate of Al Qaeda. The Obama Administration politely turned down the Chinese demand and sent the Uighurs away to the Pacific island nation of Palau. It has stuck to the policy of the Bush Administration of not handing over to China Uighur suspects detained in Afghanistan on suspicion of their involvement with Al Qaeda----- a suspicion which could not be ultimately proved. Human rights and Congressional circles in the US have been strongly opposed to these Uighurs being handed over to China lest they be executed by the Chinese as terrorists.

7. On November 6,2009, the Government-controlled Xinhua news agency disseminated a strongly-worded criticism of the US action in which the US was accused of connivance with the Uighur terrorists and of double standards in counter-terrorism, but this commentary seems to be a purely proforma expression of Chinese unhappiness over the US action, which will not affect Sino-American ties.

8. On the eve of the forthcoming visit of President Obama to China, to which both countries attach considerable importance, the Chinese media and Government spokesmen continue to highlight the positive in the bilateral relations without overplaying the negative. This is evident from an article on Sino-American relations carried by the "People's Daily" on November 2,2009. It has been written by Wang Xinjun, an associate researcher of war theory and strategy at China's Academy of Military Sciences.

9. This article, which is a review of the recent visit of Xu Caihou, Vice-Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, to the US, has expressed satisfaction over the developing military-military ties with the US and says:" In the post-cold war era, China has put an end to its ideological restrictions and striven to develop its cooperative ties with countries the world over on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit; China has earnestly learned from all advanced things from the U.S. with an open approach instead of following the beaten track of taking the nation as its "sworn foe". Objectively speaking, the achievements China has so far attained contain much sophisticated experience and technologies it has imported from the U.S. In face of the current world beset with crises, any single, individual force is inadequate to cope with crisis. China and the U.S. are important countries in the world, and have unshakable responsibilities for global peace and security. Both nations should deem it their own duty or responsibility for the promotion of permanent peace and security for humanity; both should discard the cold war mentality, act in line with new principles of equality, respect and cooperation, seek the common ground while reserving their differences, reduce suspicion, and increase the mutual confidence, so as to build up a Sino-U.S. strategic partnership in the 21st century and work together to meet stark challenges facing the humanity. This could bring happiness to their people and to the people around worldwide as well."

10. These articles relating to India and the US bring out the dual Chinese policy of tactical firmness and strategic flexibility. This consists of tactical assertion of what they look upon as China's core interests while not allowing such assertions to affect their strategic relationships with the two countries.

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. He is also associated with the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: [email protected] )

ANNEXURE

China, India expected to forge common prosperity and development

"People's Daily" commentary of November 4, 2009

During the talks in the resort city of Hua Hin, Thailand, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh agreed that the two countries should forge a strategic partnership to maintain regional peace and stability, achieve the goal of common development and harmonious prosperity. On the disputed border issues, the two sides agreed to narrow the differences through dialogue on the political principles already reached, and jointly work out a solution that goes in line with the interests of both sides. The two sides also need to ensure peace and create a friendly environment in border areas, as well as enhance cooperation and bilateral ties in various aspects.

The consensus between Premier Wen and Indian PM Singh is just like a gentle breeze, clearing up all the suspicion and misunderstanding that have hindered bilateral relations over the past decades.

Sino-Indian relations are steadily on the rise despite the ups and downs over the past decades. Leaders from both countries reached agreement that China and India would never regard each other as a threat, which served as a political foundation for the development of bilateral ties from strategic perspective.

Economic and trade cooperation between China and India witnessed robust growth, with bilateral trade volume standing at 51.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2008. India is among China's top ten largest trading partners, and China is India's largest trading partner. Two-way investment also experienced fast growth.

In military cooperation, the military from both countries conducted exchange visits and maintained regular communications, and signed memorandum of understanding on defense exchange and cooperation, putting forward the idea of regular, long-term and large-scale cooperation in terms of training, anti-terrorism as well as joint research-and-rescue operations.

The two Asian neighbors also expanded cooperation in the fields of social exchange, culture and education. In international affairs, China and India have made unrelenting efforts in tackling global economic downturn, climate change, energy security, food security, anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations.

Generally speaking, Sino-Indian relations witnessed smooth development over the past decades, but some pending issues and unnecessary misunderstanding have plagued bilateral ties. It is of vital importance to combat various pressures and challenges through collaboration. Media from both countries should play a constructive role, creating a healthy environment to facilitate public opinion.

China and India, the two neighbors with the world's largest population, are forging ahead towards peace and development, which is the common wish of both leaders and people.

China Smiles at India, US
 

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