Contact is taking a holiday!

Photo: timesofindia.com

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India this month came at a crucial time following the incursion on April 15 of Chinese troops into India across the de facto border, and their pitched camp in the Depsang Valley in the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir – timed a month after China’s new President Xi Jinping came to office.  While talks for “mutual interest and concern” proceed between the two nations, the border disagreement (which led to a bloody war in 1962) still remains a sensitive issue and an obstacle to closer ties. Reports claim that there is a proposal to freeze troop levels in the disputed border region as the two countries make efforts to settle the issue.

After wide ranging discussions between both the Prime Ministers, Li said “Both the Prime Minister and I believe that there are far more shared interests between China and India than the differences we have. Without the common development of China and India, Asia won’t become strong and the world won’t become a better place.” In a joint statement, the two nations pledged to take measures to address the issue of the imbalance in trade, currently around$30 billion, and hoping to boost the rising bilateral trade from its current $76 billion, to $100 billion by 2015.

Another concern which remains unsolved is China occupying 38,000 square kilometers of territory in the Aksai Chin plateau in the western Himalayas, as well as China’s claims to around 90,000 square kilometers in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, with no signs of further improvement.

The meeting also led into discussions of the presence in India of Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetan government-in-exile, with the Chinese Premier saying that this is a constant irritant to China.  The Indian government made it very clear that there can be no discussion on His Holiness’s position as an honoured guest of the country.

Three Tibetans were detained for staging a protest against Li in Delhi where he was staying. They were members and staff of the Students for a Free Tibet. One protester, Tashi, unfurled a 20-foot-long banner reading, “CHINA OUT OF TIBET, CHINA OUT OF INDIA, LI KEQIANG: TIBET WILL BE FREE!” and raised slogans calling for “Free Tibet” and “Tibet’s Independence, Indian’s Security.”