Indian Foreign Policy And The Border Dispute With China

This volume is an updated and expanded version of the author’s original book, first published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and based on his cum laude doctoral dissertation. That volume discussed how the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence drowned in the first war between a communist and a non-aligned state. This new edition reproduces the original text, but supplements it considerably in light of subsequent developments and official records and reports only later released or leaked to the public. It places Sino-Indian relations in the wider, current context of the rise of China, the position of Tibet and the disorganised state of Asia. The border dispute did not prevent substantial economic relations developing between the two countries and visits taking place at the highest political level. But it still gives rise to almost daily incursions, and in the current climate, the risk of a clash is growing, as forces have been strengthened and most of the Line of Actual Control has not been demarcated. This thought-provoking volume sheds light on what is still a complex and uneasy relationship.

There has been growing interest in the historical analysis of the Sino-Indian relations and the Sino-Indian border issue, yet little research has focused on the impact of two governments foreign policies concerning the Sino-Indian border issue and border war. This book examines the Sino-Indian relations, particularly the Sino-Indian border issue and border war, Tibetan issues, and China and Indias foreign policies from the 1950s to 1960s. This book will discuss the origin and development of the Sino-Indian border issue and connections between national diplomatic policies and the border disputes in China and India. More specifically, this book aims to illustrate the origins of the Sino-Indian border dispute, the role Tibet played in the Sino-Indian border issue, the impacts of their foreign policies on the Sino-Indian border issue from the 1950s to the 1960s, the measures both states took to ease boundary tensions and conflicts, the reasons for the outbreak of the 1962 Border War, and the changes to foreign policies the two governments made before and after the 1962 Border War. This book involves the collection and analysis of historical archival materials and official documents from both China and India. The book is mainly aimed at researchers, undergraduates and postgraduate students in the subject areas of the history of international relations and Chinese studies. It could be used in a wide range of courses since it offers insights into the aspects of historical and international relations found within Chinese society. It will be of interest to academic libraries, research institutes, universities, and students either as a textbook or as reading material. Due to the appeal and relevance of the subject, this book would also be of interest to people who want to know more about the history of Sino-Indian border disputes as well as China and Indias foreign policies from 1950 to the 1960s through such a particular and appropriate topic.

Foreign relations with reference to the impact of Parliament debates over Sino-India border dispute; includes a case study of 1962 Lok Sabha dedate.

At the outset, this book must be viewed as a policy relevant document rather than an abstract historical research paper. The authors have revisited the seemingly intractable India-China border dispute from a contemporary conflict resolution perspective and thus are relatively detached from the historical baggage that has so often influenced other commentaries on this controversial subject. The great natural defensive line of northern India, the mighty Himalayas, separating Tibet from north-east India, is a barrier which, by tradition, was impenetrable. This defensive line is embodied by the 1914 Line, India s non-negotiable interest. Thus, from an Indian perspective, it can never be conceived that its frontiers with China are ever formalized on the Brahmaputra plains. Further, the 1914 alignment, aside from its strategic sanctity, also upholds the ethnic and linguistic affinities to peoples south of it, who are distinct from the homogenous Tibetan or Han people. Similarly, from China s perspective it too is in possession of its non-negotiable interest the Aksai Chin plateau. And therein lies the essence of an east-west swap. By retracing the historical record, the authors argue that such a swap is eminently feasible and historically justifiable. Moreover, realpolitik demands it. From the Indian perspective, however, it should be equally clear that a bipartisan national consensus is imperative for any breakthrough resolution to emerge. It remains to be seen, however, if political managers on both sides are able to muster the necessary will to resolve a dispute that has lasted for more than half-a-century. Contents: Introduction · Acknowledgments · The Legacy of the Great Game · India, Tibet and China · India Inherits the Frontiers :1947-1954 · The Debacle of 1962 · Road to Rapprochement: Diplomacy since the 1970s · The Way Forward: Mutual accommodation and accommodation of reality · Appendices · Bibliography · Index

The hardline view of Sino-Indian relations found in the published reports of Indian and Chinese security analysts is often at considerable odds with the more tempered opinions those same analysts express in private interviews and conversations. What is the reality of the increasingly important security relationship between the two countries? The authors of this new study address that question in depth. Sidhu and Yuan explore a range of key issues, including mutual distrust and misperception (perhaps the most important factor), the undemarcated border, the status of Tibet and Sikkim, trade, the tussle over various nonproliferation treaties, terrorism, the regional roles of the U.S. and Pakistan, and the impact of domestic public opinion and special interests. They do see a trend toward a more pragmatic approach in Beijing and New Delhi to managing differences and broadening the agenda of common interests. Nevertheless, they conclude, significant obstacles remain to the amicable relationship necessary for regional peace and stability, posing a daunting challenge to policymakers in these two rising powers.

Though considerable research literature is now available on China–India relations, most of it still follows a conventional narrative, viewing the relationship through the narrow conflictual prism limited to South Asia than in the new, larger perspective, especially in the context of emerging East Asian dynamics. This book offers comprehensive analyses of some of these issues in papers addressing two broad themes. One, significant trends in the relationship between China and India on a range of issues, including economic development models, their military strategies, and the boundary dispute; and two, how others are responding to the rise of India and China and their impact on East Asia. Together, the chapters constitute a comprehensive study on both China–India relations and their concurrent rise, including a variety of perspectives and methodologies. Written by some of the top experts on the subject from India, China, Japan, and Taiwan and covering a broad range of issues, the book will generate considerable interest in understanding this relatively neglected dimension of today’s East Asia.