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National Indo-China boundary talks begin http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=Indo%2DChina+boundary+talks+begin&id=85657 Shivraj Parshad, Ajai Shukla Saturday, March 11, 2006 (New Delhi): The seventh round of Indo-China boundary talks began on Saturday in New Delhi. National Security Advisor M K Narayanan led the Indian side while Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo represented China in the talks. Dai is a significant representative of the Chinese foreign establishment. Before the talks, the Chinese representative called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Both sides were expected to discuss on a mutually agreed framework to settle the 3,500 km boundary question. Concern over Indo-US nuke deal There are concerns in Beijing over the nuclear deal struck between India and the US after President George W Bush's visit in early March. China is a significant member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and would like to hear how the deal will bring India into the non-proliferation fold. Narayanan and Dai will continue their discussions on Sunday in Kerala. Bitter history The boundary dispute is a bitter legacy of the 1962 war. In 2003, the two countries decided to appoint special representatives for negotiations. After the historic visit by Premiere Wen Jiabao in 2005, the two sides have a set of 11 guiding principles and parameters. These include not disturbing settled populations and adjustments based on new geographical realities. Reports of over 15-year-old Joint Working groups that look at maps and the Line of Actual control and military confidence building measures also form part of the agreed agenda. Who gets Tawang? The toughest question to settle between the two neighbours is India's claim on Aksai Chin and China's insistence that Arunachal Pradesh is theirs. China insists on retaining the 43,000 square kilometres it occupies in the western sector, which India could live with. The 2000 square kilometres in the tiny central sector will also see some give and take. But India's wish to retain the 90,000 square kilometres in the eastern sector in Arunachal Pradesh has run into trouble. China insists on the 5000 square kilometres of the Tawang area in eastern Arunachal, the most developed part of the state. China points to history saying that Tawang and Dirang have always had the closest links with Tibet. Until 1951 when Indian forces marched in, Tibetan rulers called Dzong-pas ruled from this building in Dirang collecting taxes for rulers in Tibet. China would like to control the Tawang monastery a spiritual centre that draws Buddhist loyalty even from deep inside Tibet. And the Dalai Lama remains a thorn in China's flesh. If the Chinese have failed to sweep away the faith they would like at least to appropriate the symbols. The Dalai Lama angle Another power centre that China has its eye on in Tawang is the birthplace of the Sixth Dalai Lama, the only Dalai Lama born outside China. The local people here have felt the hot breath of China. For a month after the 1962 war, China occupied this area trying in vain to subvert their loyalty. "Even the Dalai Lama, the most important person in Buddhism, had to run away. The Chinese gave him a lot of problems. So what about us? "We knew the Chinese would trouble us, that is why they couldn't win hearts here," said T Angchuk a resident of Tawang. There is comfort for these people that New Delhi and Beijing are talking. With the special representatives having agreed that any border settlement will involve minimum disturbance to people living near the borders, the future of Tawang and its people appear increasingly linked with India.
