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China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010
Pakistan Study Centre University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan Research Panel:
Professor Dr. Massarrat Abid, Director Professor Dr. Syed Farooq Hasnat Ahmad Ejaz
Policy Report February 2010
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation By
Maryam Azam Lecturer, Department of International Relations Lahore College for Women University, Lahore
Introduction Recent Indian relations with China have twin factors of emphasis. On the one hand, border irritants reemerged and on the other, the question of Dalai Lama became a source of added tensions between the two countries. Later, the Tibet question became a
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010 main cause of annoyance, as well. These developments became a definite source of departure from the cordial relations that these two countries are striving to have in economic field. In the past, the Indo-China relations remained strained, ever since the 1962 border war. China claimed Tibet as an integral part of china, which it “liberated” in 1950.On the other hand, India pursued the policy of goodwill, as at that time India was not in a position to opt for any military action against China. Pakistan’s alignment with the west and its joining of the defensive pacts in 1954 and 1955 also paved the way for India to seek closer arrangement with China. Thus, when United States signed South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954 with Pakistan, India signed an agreement with China on Tibet on April 29, 1954, in which India formally recognized Chinese claim over Tibet, for the main purpose of securing its northern and north eastern borders. Dr. Keskar, the Indian Deputy Minister of External Affairs, explained: “(The Indian) government feels that the best way of protecting the frontiers is to have a friendly Tibet and friendly China”1. The preamble of the treaty contained Panch Sheel (five principles), which called for respect for each other’s territorial integrity, noninterference, nonaggression and relations based on mutual coordination and peaceful co existence2. The watchword of Hindi- Chini Bhai Bhai became a household slogan in India, but in real politick the dynamics of power politics cannot be ignored. India’s support for the Tibetan nationalist to wage anti-Chinese movement, Nepal-China treaty on Tibet in 1956 and Chinese built up of road through Aksai China, a part of Indian Ladakh, connecting Tibet and Sinkiang aggravated the situation. In this respect Prime Minister Nehru approached Chou-En-Lai but it was retained by China that border issue was not the part of 1954 agreement and that it was still unresolved. The Tibetan revolt of 1959 resulted in the flight of Dalai Lama, with thousands of his followers to India, where they were granted political asylum. For nearly 50 years India has hosted the Tibetan spiritual leader, which becomes a major cause of distrust between the two neighbouring nations. The recent visit of the disputed north-eastern Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh by Dalai Lama was condemned by the Chinese officials. According to the spokesmen of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Ma Zhaoxu the
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010 visit “further exposes the anti-China and separatist nature of the Dalai clique”3. India has used the Dalai Lama card to keep the issue of Tibet alive. Moreover, the presence of Dalai Lama on the Indian soil is symbolic in a sense that it reflects the anti-Chinese stance of India on the unsettled areas. Ever since the beginning of 2000, the world has undergone tremendous transformations. The emergence of regional powers centers and the rapid development of some societies has been a hallmark of the prevailing global system and culture. These centres are competing with each other to play a leading role in the international economic and strategic systems. The Indians are being prompted by the United States, through various defense and economic arrangements. U.S. civilian nuclear deal with India in March 2006 has positioned India as a regional counter against China. Presently, the India- china relations can be observed within the framework of at least three dimensions. These dimensions of China-India Relations can be categorized as, Strategic; Political; and Economic:
Strategic As mentioned in the first part on this paper, both the states were in intense rivalry, as a result of the Sino Indian border war in 1962 over the 3,500 km border. Indo-China border known as MacMillan line was demarcated between the British rulers of India and the Chinese and Tibet rulers in 1913 and 1914 as the result of Simla accords4. The Chinese view is that the boundary was drawn by an arbitral act of the British, which was the dominant power of its time. During the 1962 war, China seized much of the Himalayas high ground, thus creating strategic vulnerability for India. Apart from that, China claims Arunachal Pradesh as its territory, which is one of the states of India. It borders with Chinese controlled area of Tibet. Aksai Chin is another bone of contention between the two populous states of Asia. It is administrated by China and claimed by India as a part of Kashmir. Its strategic
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010 importance lies in the fact that it connects Xinjiang and Tibet. Xinjiang has vast natural resources and is China’s largest oil producing region. The decade of 1970s and 1980s saw continued strained relations between the two states. However, in 1990s a series of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) were taken by these two countries, thus paving the way for the resuming of dialogue between India and China. This process of rapprochement facilitated for establishing the agreements on maintaining peace and tranquility in 1993 and 1996 along with talks between the special representatives and sharing of maps. These helped to ease tensions between the two countries. The high level exchange of visits was also important part of the CBMs. In September of 1993, Prime Minister Narsima Rao visited China and signed an agreement on the maintenance of Border Peace and Tranquility (BPTA). In a reciprocal gesture, in December 1996 Chinese President Jiang Zemin visited India and assured the permanence in the ongoing confidence building measures between the two states. Moreover, an agreement on guiding principles on settling of disputes was signed in 2005. This agreement called for:
The resolution of border dispute through bilateral consultations in accordance with the five principles of co-existence
Use of force must be avoided at all costs
Give due consideration to each other’s strategic and security dynamics
Historical evidences and national sentiments must be taken into account during the consultations regarding border dispute
Strictly respect and observe the line of actual control
The India -china joint working group and India-China diplomatic and military expert group to continue their work under the agreements of 1993 and 1996 which aims to clarify the matters related to the line of control and confidence building measures5.
The 2006 talks between the Prime Ministers of India Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao resulted in a ten-pronged strategy, to enhance co-operation and mutual ties. Both the states decided to improve their ties on the following guidelines.
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010
Sustainable strategic and co-operative partnership
Settlement of territorial issues
Enhancing assistance in the sectors of science and technology and civilian nuclear programme
Strengthening institutional contacts by regular summit meetings6
Promoting bilateral investment in trade and commerce
Cooperation in industry, agriculture, energy, environment and tourism
Enlarging the canvas of people to people contact.
But trust deficit, competition to maintain strategic edge and to attain regional imminence in the region, are the main impediments for a sustainable better relations between the two neighbouring nations. The tensions in 2009, as a consequence of a border dispute resulted in the Indian buildup of troops and the Chinese responded by building roads and increased patrolling. This derailed the already agreed series of confidence building measures, which had aimed at greater cooperation in terms of trade, investment, and energy, in order to solidify industrial and economic cooperation. The strategic partnership of India with the United States and US-India civilian nuclear deal made the regional dynamics more complex. Bush administration perceived India as a potential regional balancer. This move was seen with suspicion by China, which saw this new developing alliance as an attempt to “encircle” China and to challenge its growing economic influence, in the region and at global level.
Political Chinese ambassador to India Zhang Yan stated that “2010 will be an important year for China India relations”7 thus reflecting the significance of their relationship. A series of military exchanges also took place in 2009. A five year agreement was also signed to deal with the climate change8. This diversity in relationship reflects that both the states have realized that despite some basic reservations, working on shared interest becomes desirable.
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010 The growing strategic partnership of India with the United States and China’s unique friendship with Pakistan adds a variety of dicey dimensions in the South Asian region. The increasing nexus between Pakistan and China in the military sphere is seen with suspicion by India, while China and Pakistan are highly apprehensive about the American increasing rapprochement with India, on a variety of issues, including that of providing India with a wider role in Afghanistan. India has also expanded its naval buildup in the Indian Ocean, to contain the growing influence of the Chinese navy, in the area. This policy of strategic retribution, along with the growing economic cooperation makes the India-China relationship more complex and challenging.
Economic In 1984 both the states provided the most favored nation (MFN) status to each other. It was in the era of 1990s that saw a new beginning of bilateral economic relations. The Double Tax Avoidance agreement in 1994 is one example which escalated the economic cooperation, by providing investment opportunities. In 2003 Bangkok agreement, both the states offer trade preferences. India provided dispensation on 187 products and China on 217.9 An agreement on opening trade through silk route was also initiated. It is evident that both the states are keen to cooperative in international trade. In June 2006 the re-opening of Nathu Lal pass in the Himalayas as trade route was a breakthrough event, as it been closed ever since the Sino-Indian border war of 196210. In 2008 bilateral trade between the two Asian markets exceeded $51 billion, with an increase of 34 percent over 200711.It is expected that trade would boost up to $ 60 billion in 2010, as China being the biggest trade partner. Though, it is small as compared to China’s $425 billion trade with European Union and $333 billion with United States12, but this cooperation can act as a catalyst in the normalization of relations between the two growing economies of the world. Increasing interdependence in economic sector can pave the way for reduction in the gravity of confrontation. In 2009 China-India trade volume reached 44.38 billion dollars. In this respect the Chinese ambassador to India,
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010 Zhang Dang stated that the two emerging powers, India and china have emphasized on cooperation and have therefore met global challenges, hand in hand. On the regional front, in Shanghai cooperation organization (SCO) India got the observer status in 2005. China being a member of SCO embraced the Indian decision but on the other hand India’s active lobbying for keeping China out of SAARC expose their respective divergent interests. Both the states are also a dialogue partner in ASEAN. On the contrary, India heavily financed the Iranian Chabahar sea port, as a countermove to the Chinese investments and interests in the Arabian Sea Gwadar port in Pakistan.
Conclusion India-china relations not only affect the regional political nexus but have some bearing on the international system, especially in context to the U.S. policies in the Asian hemisphere. Although, in recent times China and India have not allowed their differences to go beyond a certain limit but the compulsions for influence in the region and Indian Ocean remains as strong as ever. Besides the competitive engagement between India and China for strategic and political prominence, the increasing economic cooperation reflects that both the states are trying to reach an arrangement – a kind of a balance, in which they could pursue their mutual economic interests, separating it from the competitiveness in the strategic and political fields. Jonathan Holslag, the author of “China and India: Prospects for Peace”, (published in January 2010) is of the view that China-India relations are much more complicated than imagined. In his observation there remains a wide gap in the views, as they see each other. The author writes, India is full of voluble politicians, academics, diplomats and ordinary people with fiercely held views on China. Across the border, however, fewer Chinese regard
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010 India as an issue of immediate importance and debate on the relationship is far more circumscribed. Cyberspace may be the exception, but it is largely ignored in this account. A consequence of this—and it is something many Indians are painfully aware of—is that Indian policy often appears fragile, contradictory and self-defeating, whereas China’s seems coherent, single-minded and effective. Yet it is hard to imagine that China can have a higher foreign-policy goal in South Asia than keeping relations with India on a fairly even keel.13 Because of the negative public image of each other, the author argues that “strategic cooperation is harder”, to come. No matter the “much-discussed bilateral free-trade agreement were signed and the border issues settled”, these two competitive neighbours would remain to be rivals of each other, in every sense of the word. 14
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010
References
1. V Longer, The Defence and Foreign Policies of India, (New Delhi: Sterling publishers, 1988) p. 52. 2. Devint Hagerty, South Asia in World Politics, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) p. 24. 3. http://www.sinodaily.com/reports/Dalai_Lama_trip_strains_IndiaChina_ties_999.htmlDawn, September 18, 2009. 4. www.wekipedia.com
5. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/nic/0041/indiachinatxt.
6. www.chinadaily.com, November 22, 2006.
7. http://www.chinadaily.net/cndy/2010-02/17/content_9471798.htm
8. Ibid.
9. http://www.economywatch.com/international-economic-relations/china's-economicrelations-with-india.html
10. Nicklas Norling and Niklas Swanstrom, Monthly Current Affairs, The Shanghai cooperation organization, trade and the roles of Iran, India and Pakistan; Book 168, August 2008.
11. Dawn, April 10, 2009.
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010
12. Op.cit, www.chinadaily.com, November 22, 2006.
13. http://www.economist.com/culture/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15450482
14. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66139/jonathan-holslag/china-and-indiaprospects-for-peace
China-India Relations: A Complexity of Competitiveness with Cooperation March 1, 2010
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