China seeks to play down the general controversy

China has said it “has not halted defence exchanges with India and has received no word that India has stopped military exchanges between the two countries,” but has kept quiet on the visa denial issue to a senior three-star army officer.

The statement, which was released by Beijing to news agencies on Saturday, comes in the wake of China refusing to issue a visa to Lt Gen BS Jaswal, who heads Northern Command, on the grounds that his command included the disputed Jammu and Kashmir state.

Strategic experts say that Beijing’s recent action of stapling visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir and refusing a visa to Lt Gen Jaswal has only exposed China’s endorsement of Pakistan’s claim on J&K.

They add that while the move has cast a shadow on Sino-Indian diplomacy and over China’s intent to strengthen confidence building measures (CBM), it could not be reason enough to break off ties.

Commodore (retired) C Uday Bhaskar, a strategic analyst agreed that this was the first time that a three-star officer had been denied a visa and the issue was a national embarrassment.

“But ties can’t be snapped as an emotional reaction. We have to be malleable and keep the entries and exits open,” he told DNA.

Defence minister AK Antony on Friday declared that short-term problems would not affect India’s overall approach towards China.

“It is not the question of breaking defence ties with China. We have close ties with the country though there could be some problems occasionally,” he said.

His statement clearly indicated that exchanges may stall temporarily, but resolving problems through talks was the only solution and the way forward.

Sujit Dutta, a China expert formerly with the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) pointed out that while India and China might have come closer to each other over the last two decades, there remained exchanges at multiple levels where the differences have not been resolved.

“The Dalai Lama in Arunachal Pradesh is a matter of concern to Beijing, along with a host of other problems and the Indian government has always been left surprised by China every now and then,” he said.