In Beijing, it’s business

Prime Minister Vajpayee’s visit to China is expected to be more than a routine bilateral contact, especially since it has been a decade since Prime Minister Narasimha Rao was in Beijing. A joint declaration would no doubt define these ties appropriately. There is a substantive convergence of views in Beijing and New Delhi on the international situation, while the interests of the two would not necessarily coincide on every issue. China and India have both pursued independent foreign policies over the past five decades. The world situation now is in a state of flux. A deeper look would reveal that more of Chinese and Indian interests would be served better by further transition of the international order toward a non-polarised, non-hegemonic framework which would allow them greater flexibility and autonomy of decision making to pursue their national interests.

At the same time, human development remains the strategic priority for both countries. This requires faster growth of economic and trade opportunities, and assured peace. Our outstanding disputes, complex as they are, must be seen in that context so that we are clear about our priorities. The issue of where the Sino-Indian border actually lies is a complex one and difficult to resolve since it concerns large tracts of territory between two countries deeply sensitive about their sovereignty. The strategic logic of the 1988 statement and the 1993 agreement was the need to stabilise the frontiers by the maintenance of peace across them. This is why the demarcation of the Line of Actual Control is so important since that would ensure that incidents like the 1987 Sumdrong Chu spat do not recur.

We do not require a certificate from China to endorse the reality that Sikkim is a part of India. In any case, an agreement to open a border post on India’s northern border in the Sikkim region would be an acceptance of this reality by Beijing. Trade between the two countries has been growing rapidly at an average annual growth rate of over 32 per cent. As the two countries engage each other in the economic trade arena, they are also discovering greater opportunities for the further expansion of this trade. Every possible measure and opportunity needs to be exploited to speed up the momentum of bilateral trade and investments. Enhancing border trade must also be seen in this context and trading expanded in volume and through border posts all the way from the Karakoram Pass in J&K in the west, through Sikkim, to the eastern tip of our borders.