The 15th meeting of the India-China Joint Working Group on the Boundary Question was held in Beijing on March 30-31, 2005. The Special Representatives have met 8 times, the last time in China in June this year. The discussions between the Special Representatives, however, are shrouded in secrecy, while the JWG is still trying to reconcile the two respective positions on the LAC.

So far, the most tangible result has been the swapping of respective maps of the LAC in the middle sector, covering Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh boundaries with Tibet. The western sector involves the border in Aksai Chin, and the Eastern sector includes the border in Arunachal.

A meeting of the Special Representatives scheduled for November 9, ahead of the visit by President Hu, was cancelled after the Chinese reiterated their claims to Arunachal, and some reports say the border issue is not likely to figure officially during the talks between Hu and the Indian government.

What are the options now available?

Some analysts say that China would be willing to forfeit its claim to Arunachal if India in turn recognised Aksai Chin as Chinese territory. But given that it would be political suicide for any Indian government to be seen as ceding Indian territory, this is not likely to happen soon. Until then, the two sides have agreed to put the border issue on the back burner while pressing ahead in developing other ties.

At the moment, the various processes underway include a strategic dialogue, the Joint Working Group and expert group dealing with the boundary issues, meeting of Special Representatives, foreign office consultations, a security dialogue, a policy planning dialogue, and a dialogue on counter-terrorism.

Why did Ambassador Sun raise Arunachal Pradesh just before the visit?

Analysts argue that the Chinese do this regularly in order to set down their negotiating positions, which can then be debated. By reiterating Chinese claims over Arunachal, China hopes to keep India on the defensive, and perhaps agree to drop claims to Aksai Chin in return for China dropping claims to Arunachal.

Image : Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao lights a lamp as his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh looks on during the inauguration of a Chinese cultural progamme, in New Delhi, April 11, 2005.