17 Sep 2008
Saibal Dasgupta ,TNN
BEIJING: The next round of border talks between India and China beginning on Thursday promises to be significantly different from the past 11 rounds for a variety of reasons including the recent verdict of the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifting the trade ban on India.
China appears worried that India's bitterness over the role played by China at the NSG meeting will spill over on the border talks. National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, who is the chief negotiator on the border dispute, was one of those who severely criticised Beijing for being reluctant in backing India's nuclear case.
Narayanan arrives on Thursday afternoon for talks with his counterpart, Chinese State Counsellor Dai Bingguo. The talks will be held over several sessions on Thursday and Friday.
"The border talks and the NSG issue are two different things. They must be kept separate," Hu Shisheng, a researcher at the government think-talk, the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said.
Besides the NSG verdict, which put India on a somewhat higher nuclear plane, recent developments in Asia is also expected to influence the next round of talks. China has cause to feel comfortable after its recent success in mending fences with Japan, which it regarded with deep suspicion until a few months back.
India is expected to seek clarification from China on whether it is considering signing a nuclear agreement with Pakistan. There have been reports that the new Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari was pushing Beijing to sign a deal similar to the India-US deal.
China, which has played an important role to helping Pakistan develop its nuclear capabilities, is not expected to give India a categorical reply about its future plans on this count.
"The NSG verdict represents the end of the old order and the emergence of a new order. The Chinese leadership has always adhered to the principal of watching the situation carefully before taking a stand on a changing situation like this one," a Chinese expert on Asian affairs told this reporter. "So, it is no surprise that our representatives behaved in the manner they did. It was a responsible stance on their part, and India should have appreciated it," he said.
The expert also complained that the "sense of hysteria" in the Indian media about China's role at the NSG would have a negative impact on the relationship among the two countries. "The Indian mass media has been very negative on China. Even the reports about incursions by the Chinese military into Indian territory are false and very negative. This is going to be a big hurdle in the relationship between the two countries," he said.
Pakistan, which is always an important factor in India-China relationship, is not yet entirely out of turmoil. The Chinese leadership has little direct acquaintance with the new Pakistani president. The People's Daily , which is the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, had recently expressed serious concerns about the major challenges facing Zardari in terms of social turmoil and terrorist activities.
Pakistani media had one stage reported that Zardari will visit Beijing on September 17 making it his first foreign destination after taking oath. But this has not turned out to be true. It is possible Zardari initially planned to visit Beijing in mid-September and then deferred it after getting signals that China was not yet ready to discuss a possible nuclear deal.
Saibal Dasgupta ,TNN
BEIJING: The next round of border talks between India and China beginning on Thursday promises to be significantly different from the past 11 rounds for a variety of reasons including the recent verdict of the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifting the trade ban on India.
China appears worried that India's bitterness over the role played by China at the NSG meeting will spill over on the border talks. National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, who is the chief negotiator on the border dispute, was one of those who severely criticised Beijing for being reluctant in backing India's nuclear case.
Narayanan arrives on Thursday afternoon for talks with his counterpart, Chinese State Counsellor Dai Bingguo. The talks will be held over several sessions on Thursday and Friday.
"The border talks and the NSG issue are two different things. They must be kept separate," Hu Shisheng, a researcher at the government think-talk, the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said.
Besides the NSG verdict, which put India on a somewhat higher nuclear plane, recent developments in Asia is also expected to influence the next round of talks. China has cause to feel comfortable after its recent success in mending fences with Japan, which it regarded with deep suspicion until a few months back.
India is expected to seek clarification from China on whether it is considering signing a nuclear agreement with Pakistan. There have been reports that the new Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari was pushing Beijing to sign a deal similar to the India-US deal.
China, which has played an important role to helping Pakistan develop its nuclear capabilities, is not expected to give India a categorical reply about its future plans on this count.
"The NSG verdict represents the end of the old order and the emergence of a new order. The Chinese leadership has always adhered to the principal of watching the situation carefully before taking a stand on a changing situation like this one," a Chinese expert on Asian affairs told this reporter. "So, it is no surprise that our representatives behaved in the manner they did. It was a responsible stance on their part, and India should have appreciated it," he said.
The expert also complained that the "sense of hysteria" in the Indian media about China's role at the NSG would have a negative impact on the relationship among the two countries. "The Indian mass media has been very negative on China. Even the reports about incursions by the Chinese military into Indian territory are false and very negative. This is going to be a big hurdle in the relationship between the two countries," he said.
Pakistan, which is always an important factor in India-China relationship, is not yet entirely out of turmoil. The Chinese leadership has little direct acquaintance with the new Pakistani president. The People's Daily , which is the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, had recently expressed serious concerns about the major challenges facing Zardari in terms of social turmoil and terrorist activities.
Pakistani media had one stage reported that Zardari will visit Beijing on September 17 making it his first foreign destination after taking oath. But this has not turned out to be true. It is possible Zardari initially planned to visit Beijing in mid-September and then deferred it after getting signals that China was not yet ready to discuss a possible nuclear deal.
