China claims Arunachal Pradesh as 'Chinese territory'

Ambassador’s statement comes just before Hu’s visit

China’s ambassador Sun Yuxi created a diplomatic flutter in the capital on Monday by reiterating Beijing’s claim to Arunachal Pradesh. Though this is a long held Chinese position and India is familiar with this kind of rhetoric, the timing has raised eyebrows in Delhi.

The surprise is because it has come ahead of President Hu Jintao’s visit next weekend to India. Both Indian and Chinese officials have been hard at work for months to make the Chinese President’s visit a significant one.

After the ambassador’s statement, the visit will be dogged by controversy. It will also give a fillip to hardliners in India, both inside and outside the government who remain suspicious of Beijing and are still haunted by memories of the disastrous 1962 border war, when the Indian army got routed and the Chinese took over important towns in Arunachal including Tawang, which China claims as its own. Tawang is famous for its Buddhist monastery.

Indian officials have refused to comment on the Chinese ambassador’s statement, saying they have to see the entire text. But officials played down Sun Yuxi’s remarks saying “there is nothing new in what the ambassador said. China has always claimed large tracts of Arunachal, which is neither here nor there. The Special Representatives of our two governments are dealing with the border issue,’’ the official added.

Analysts however see this as a tactical move by the Chinese. India has been suggesting opening up of new trading posts in the Arunachal-China border in the east. Beijing fears this is New Delhi’s attempt to formalise its position on Tawang in particular and Arunachal as a whole. Much of this is nothing but positions on the border talks.

“I am not surprised that Sun Yuxi went public on Arunachal. It is an indication that the border talks will go slow as it reaches a sensitive stage. There will be claims and counter claims by both sides,’’ says Srinath Kondapalli, associate professor in Chinese Studies. He recalled that two years ago at an ASEAN meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said in the presence of Chinese leaders that populated areas cannot be traded while settling the boundary dispute with Beijing. The bottom line here was that Tawang as a populated area cannot be exchanged for land in Aksai Chin or other area of the border.