It was
disappointing that the author of “Refugee Tragedy in the Making” confused basic
facts. For instance, there is
38,000 sq km land in dispute between China and India in Aksai Chin region,
whereas another 5,180 sq km land that Pakistan ceded to China in 1963. These are well-known figures even to
layman, yet the author showed obvious history ignorance by saying that India
claims the 38,000 sq km land ceded by Pakistan.
It's further
irritating to witness that the author doesn't have fundamental knowledge on
what China and India were talking about in their negotiation. She wrote that China offered to
"accommodate India on Aksai Chin" in trade for part of Arunachal
Pradesh. This is totally opposite
to the reality that both countries seek to solve border dispute according to
the de facto line of control, alone which China now controls Aksai Chin and
India occupies Arunachal Pradesh.
Moreover, look
at Aksai Chin's strategic importance to China as connecting its Sinkiang and
Tibet provinces, isn't this "offer", if it ever existed,
ridiculous? Could the author
please provide solid reference for what she claimed?
According to
Neville Maxwell, a British journalist and author of <India's China War>,
Aksai Chin is "located at a no-man's land, where nothing grows and no one
lives, on high altitude Himalayas, one of the most barren regions of the
world". A Turki name, Aksai
Chin means "China's white sands" since as early as in 7th century it
has been controlled by China in defense of Turki attacks.
Geographically
Aksai Chin is not part of Kashmir.
Aksai Chin and Kashmir Valley are separated by Ladakh, a Tibetan
kingdom. Ladakh was conquered and
annexed into Kashmir in early 19th century. To safeguard Ladakh and Kashmir below Aksai Chin, British
India government proposed to then Imperial China a demarcation, trying to push
the British boundary forward to Aksai Chin so as to control this buffer
area. China never accepted this
proposal, but British India and later India government took it for
granted.
British India,
however, never managed to implemented this demarcation, even during Imperial
China's collapse in 1911. It was
not until the British left the subcontinent that the new Indian government
decided to pursue an even more forward policy than had the colonist. During the summit of China's civil war,
India started building posts extending to Aksai Chin. Before the reunited China government sought negotiation with
India to solve the land dispute, then India PM J. Nehru had instructed that
“India would refuse to open the question to negotiation when or if the Chinese
did raise it”. According to India,
there is not at all any "land in dispute" since it's
"unquestionably" all India's land.
After fruitless
attempts, in April 1960 Chinese Premier Zhou En-Lai visited New Delhi and
proposed, for the last time, a 6-point agreement as common ground for the two
countries to base future negotiation upon:
1. There is land
in dispute between China and India;
2. There are de
facto Lines of Control in these land in dispute;
3. In
demarcation, the usage of landmark, such as watershed, mountain pass and river
valley, should be consistent along the entire boundary;
4. Demarcation
should take into consideration of both countries' national sentiments on the
Himalayas and Karakoram;
5. Before land
dispute could be solved via negotiation, both country stay behind its Line of
Control and stop further advance;
6. To prevent
military conflict, both country stop patrol.
China
unilaterally stopped patrolling within twenty-kilometers of the border. Yet such a peer-to- peer proposal was
again rejected by India government, claiming there is no "land in
dispute".
Consequently, in
1962 Chinese army initiated attack, drove the India military force out of Aksai
Chin and resumed control of this region till this day. More than forty years later, India
finally admitted there is "land in dispute" and is willing to sit
together for negotiation. Though
it's regretfully late, it's a good beginning for the two neighbors to move out
of the shadow that essentially created by colonists.
In short
conclusion, Aksai Chin is no man's land.
Historically it was controlled by China in certain periods but not
always, whereas India never did.
British India made an arbitrary demarcation to include Aksai Chin into
its territory, which was never implemented. After India obtained independence, it inherited the colonial
policy and claimed this region, which led to the 1962 Indo-China skirmish
during which China regained the control of Aksai Chin.
I understand
that no journalist would know every topic well. However, when facing unfamiliar topic it's better to refrain
from giving irresponsible data, information or interpretation. My two-cent worth to Mrs. Bhalla.
Best regards,
Wang Zai-Tian
The
Philharmonic Choral Society
Copyright
2000-2007 Wang Yi