Posts tagged ‘Arunachal Pradesh’

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25/11/2014

India names special envoy for China border talks | Reuters

India on Monday named its powerful national security adviser as a special envoy on China, opening the way for resumption of talks on the disputed border, where tensions have risen in recent months over border patrols and stiffer defenses.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing September 9, 2014. REUTERS/Lintao Zhang/Pool

Ajit Doval, a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will lead the negotiations with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi to try and reach a settlement on dispute over the 3,500-km (2,175-mile) border that has clouded rapidly expanding commercial links.

In September, the two armies were locked in a faceoff in the Ladakh sector in the western Himalayas just as Chinese President Xi Jinping was visiting India for the first summit talks with Modi.

Both leaders vowed to work together to resolve the border row that has defied a solution even after 17 rounds of high level talks over the last decade and negotiations even earlier between the diplomats of the two countries.

China lays claim to more than 90,000 sq km (35,000 sq miles) disputed by New Delhi in the eastern sector of the Himalayas. India says China occupies 38,000 square km (14,600 sq miles) of its territory on the Aksai Chin plateau in the west.

Doval, a hardliner on national security issues, will conduct boundary negotiations as well as strategic consultations with China, Modi’s office said in a statement.

New Delhi has vowed to beef up defenses along the border to narrow the gap with China’s network of roads and communication links. Beijing has expressed concern about India’s plan to build roads and border outposts in Arunachal Pradesh in the east, which it refers to as south Tibet.

Indian officials say Chinese border patrols have been intruding deeper into their side of the de facto border, in a sign of assertiveness that has fueled concern in the region.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

via India names special envoy for China border talks | Reuters.

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15/09/2014

With eye on China, Modi’s India to develop disputed border region | Reuters

India has eased restrictions on building roads and military facilities along its disputed border with China, as the new government seeks to close the gap on its neighbor’s superior transport network and take a stronger stance on Beijing.

Indian environment minister Prakash Javadekar told Reuters he had relaxed environmental rules within 100 km (62 miles) of the contested border in remote Arunachal Pradesh in order to speed up construction of some 6,000 km of roads.

The move, which also allows for the construction of army stations, arms depots, schools and hospitals in the sparsely populated Himalayan region, was announced days before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits India on Sept. 17-18.

“This is about defense preparedness,” said Javadekar. “On the Chinese side of the border, not only have they built good roads, they are building up their railway network. Our army faces problems because of the bad quality of roads,” he added.

Work on the roads will start in the coming months.

via With eye on China, Modi’s India to develop disputed border region | Reuters.

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09/07/2014

World Review | China and India ignore border tensions to forge economic ties

CHINA and India have been attempting to ‘reset’ their bilateral relationship for years.

China and India ignore border tensions to forge economic ties

While the countries stand to gain much from improved cooperation, political animosity and territorial disputes dating back to the 1962 Sino-Indian Border Conflict have undermined progress, writes World Review guest expert Vaughan Winterbottom.

But just weeks after India’s newly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office, he has set in place plans to forge closer ties with neighbouring China.

This indicates that decades of cool relations may thaw between the world’s two most populated nations and realise Mr Modi’s election promises of reviving a flagging economy.

Early signs, however, indicate that New Delhi will continue its hard-line approach to territorial disputes with China.

Both countries are keen to separate business and politics and, as they pursue different agendas for diversifying their economies, bilateral trade may grow significantly.

In the 1950s, Beijing and New Delhi positioned themselves as leaders of the developing world. They jointly penned the ‘Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’ in 1954, a set of lofty doctrines which the two countries’ leaders saw as guiding post-colonial diplomacy.

But in 1962, the neighbours engaged in a fierce, month-long conflict over disputed mountain borders drawn by the British. China came to administer Aksai Chin, which India claims as part of Jammu and Kashmir, while India held Arunachal Pradesh, which China asserts is a region of Southern Tibet.

The 1962 war has had a profound impact on subsequent Sino-Indian ties.

India remembers it as a national humiliation, and has been suspicious of Chinese strategic intentions ever since.

For China, the war is less significant to the national psyche, though India’s continuing to host the Tibetan government in exile is viewed as interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs.

Skirmishes along the Line of Actual Control, a de facto border negotiated by the two countries in 1993 and 1996, continue to this day.

Despite tensions, hopes for a cooperative relationship remain. The two countries inaugurated a ‘Year of Friendship’ in January 2014, and proposed initiatives to boost economic, cultural and people-to-people links.

This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Beijing held a conference in June 2014 to mark the occasion. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian President Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended. They spoke of the importance of the Principles – and completely ignored the territorial disputes.

Beijing responded enthusiastically to the electoral victory of Narendra Modi in May 2014. However, old sticking points remain: just days before the Five Principles anniversary conference, four Chinese People’s Liberation Army speedboats crossed into the Indian-controlled side of Pangong Lake in Jammu and Kashmir. The boats were pushed back by Indian troops.

On the day of the anniversary conference, China published a new map which shows Arunachal Pradesh as Chinese territory and a large area of Jammu and Kashmir as part of China.

Even assuming these incidents are aberrations on the path to closer ties, early signs from Mr Modi do not suggest a China-policy rethink.

Mr Modi told a rally in Arunachal Pradesh in February 2014, ‘China should give up its expansionist attitude and adopt a development mindset… No power on earth can take away even an inch from India.’

Mr Modi’s National Democratic Alliance plans to spend US$830 million to settle areas close to the contested border in Arunachal Pradesh were announced on June 20. The region’s governor, Nirbhay Sharma, said that without greater settlement along the border, ‘a gradual assimilation of our area by China is on the cards’.

Given Mr Modi’s record of support for India’s territorial claims and his openly nationalistic politics, a Sino-Indian rapprochement is unlikely.

However, Mr Modi has presented himself as a pro-business leader keen to reform India’s stagflating economy.

On this point, he may find common ground with Beijing, which is no stranger to separating economics from politics in its dealings with foreign governments.

Mr Modi has already outlined a vision to turn India into a knowledge-based society with a large service sector.

A positive sign for future economic cooperation between India and China emerged at the end of June 2014 when Mr Modi’s cabinet approved a plan to set up Chinese industrial parks in five Indian states.

In the long run pharmaceuticals, IT, medical equipment and tourism may hold greater promise as export stalwarts.

As China’s economy edges up the value chain, India could move in to pick up the labour-intensive manufacturing slack. Doing so would require tackling India’s bloated bureaucracy, corruption and vested interests in order to free up land and labour. The task defeated former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

via World Review | China and India ignore border tensions to forge economic ties.

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11/06/2014

China Tries to Woo India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – Businessweek

China is courting Narendra Modi. The Indian leader became prime minister last month after his Hindu nationalist party won a landslide victory, and in his campaign he promised to take a tougher stand toward China. India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometers (about 15,000 square miles) of its territory in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir. China says no, India is the guilty party because 90,000 sq. km. of land in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh are actually Chinese.

China Tries to Woo India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi

China made progress toward settling the dispute under Modi’s predecessor, the Congress Party’s Manmohan Singh. Following Congress’s humiliating defeat in the elections, the Chinese need to work harder to prevent relations from deteriorating anew.  Hence the glowing words from Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday in New Delhi. “China-India cooperation is like a massive buried treasure waiting to be discovered,” he said, telling reporters the two sides are close to a deal on the border. “We are prepared to reach a final settlement,” said Wang.

Any deal would provide a much-needed diplomatic victory for China. With Chinese and Vietnamese ships ramming one another in the South China Sea and Chinese and Japanese planes confronting each other in the skies over the East China Sea, the Chinese government has enough territorial disputes threatening to escalate into full-blown crises. Yesterday, China appealed to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon regarding what the Chinese called “Vietnam’s provocation” against a Chinese company’s offshore oil rig. China wants “to tell the international community the truth and set straight their understanding on the issue,” deputy permanent representative Wang Min said.

via China Tries to Woo India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – Businessweek.

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06/06/2014

Modi govt to promote civilian settlements along India-China border – The Times of India

The Narendra Modi government may not only strengthen ITBP deployment and infrastructure along the India-China border, but also promote civilian settlements in border areas.

China-India Map

Unlike the UPA regime that was reluctant to undertake aggressive deployment of troops in stretches close to the India-China border, the Union home ministry may now go for a formal survey of the border gaps and come up with a fresh deployment plan to ensure that ITBP troops are in good strength to discourage incursions on part of the Chinese troops into Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

In addition to that, road connectivity will also be strengthened along the border areas. The strengthening of infrastructure will also cover construction of bridges and better mobile connectivity through setting up of BSNL towers.

However, a significant move on part of the Centre would be to promote human settlements towards Indian side of the India-China border. This, sources pointed out, would help reinforce India’s claim to the area in any subsequent border settlement negotiations. A senior government functionary recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s insistence on leaving human settlements untouched while working out the border demarcation.

Meanwhile, with reports indicating that Chinese President Xi Jinping may visit India later this year, there is renewed hope among the people of Arunachal Pradesh that the stapled visa issue would finally be settled. “The two leaders wield all the power to have the final word on betterment of India-China ties,” a senior government functionary pointed out.

via Modi govt to promote civilian settlements along India-China border – The Times of India.

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07/04/2014

Facts and figures for India’s 2014 general election | India Insight

Voting in the 2014 election begins on April 7. More than 814 million people — a number larger than the population of Europe — will be eligible to vote in the world’s biggest democratic exercise.

Voting will be held in nine stages, which will be staggered until May 12, and results are due to be announced on May 16. Elections to state assemblies in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will be held simultaneously.

Around 930,000 polling stations will be set up for the month-long election using electronic voting machines, first introduced in 2004.

Uttar Pradesh has the most eligible voters (134 million); Sikkim the lowest (about 362,000). Male voters constitute 52.4 percent of the electorate but women voters outnumber men in eight regions — Puducherry, Kerala, Manipur, Mizoram, Daman & Diu, Meghalaya, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh.

About 23 million eligible voters have been enrolled in the 18 to 19 age group, nearly 3 percent of India’s voters.

Of India’s 814.5 million eligible voters, 28,314 identify themselves as transgender and their gender is listed as “other”. There are 11,844 non-resident Indians registered to vote in the election this year.

Since introducing photo voter ID cards and electoral rolls in 2009, 98 percent of India’s eligible voters have the former, 96 percent have the latter.

Electronic voting machine security includes: transported under armed escort and stored in strong rooms, with a double lock system and guarded 24×7 by armed police, and CCTV coverage. Also, parties/candidates allowed to keep a watch on them.

Nearly 10 million officials (including police for security) will be deployed.

Uttar Pradesh has the most Lok Sabha seats (80) while the states of Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram and the union territories have one seat each.

A candidate can spend up to 7 million rupees ($116,350) for his election campaign in Delhi and all states except Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim. For these states and other union territories, the limit is 5.4 million rupees ($90,000).

A candidate for the Lok Sabha makes a deposit of 25,000 rupees ($415) at the time of filing the nomination. If the candidate fails to get a sixth of the total valid votes polled, this amount is forfeited. Nearly 85 percent of the candidates lost their security deposit in the 2009 election.

In the 15th Lok Sabha, around 78 percent of the members have a graduate, post-graduate degree or a doctorate.

Malkajgiri in Andhra Pradesh is the biggest Indian constituency in terms of voters with around 2.95 million electors; Lakshadweep is the smallest with 47,972 voters. In Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh, Hukani polling station has 22 registered voters. Officials travel 22 km on foot to get there.

In the 2009 election, 363 political parties took part. The Bahujan Samaj Party contested the maximum number of seats (500 out of 543), followed by the Congress (440) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (433).

The last general election had a voter turnout of over 58 percent. Nagaland (89.99 percent) had the highest turnout while Jammu & Kashmir (39.68 percent) saw the lowest.

Namo Narain of the Congress party beat his BJP rival by 317 votes in Rajasthan’s Tonk Sawai Madhopur constituency — the smallest margin of victory in the 2009 election.

“Basic Minimum Facilities” for polling stations include drinking water, shed, toilet, ramp for disabled voters.

Voters will have a “None of the Above” option on voting machines.

The indelible election ink that is applied while electors cast their votes is manufactured by Mysore Paints & Varnish Limited, a Karnataka government undertaking.

Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as the favourite in opinion polls, which reflect waning support for Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party that wrested power from the BJP in 2004.

Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, will also be challenged by a clutch of regional parties that are vying for power as part of a “third front” opposed to both the Congress and the BJP.

Also in the race is Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, which made a stunning debut in Delhi elections last year and is now eyeing a national presence on the anti-corruption plank.

via Facts and figures for India’s 2014 general election | India Insight.

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21/03/2014

BBC News – Megadams: Battle on the Brahmaputra

China and India have their eye on the energy potential of the vast Brahmaputra river. Will a new wave of “megadams” bring power to the people – or put millions at risk? The BBC World Service environment reporter Navin Singh Khadka reports from Assam, India.

map

On the banks of the Brahmaputra it is hard to get a sense of where the river starts and ends. It begins far away as a Tibetan mountain stream. On the floodplains of Assam, though, its waters spread as far as the eye can see, merging with the horizon and the sky.

From here it continues through north-eastern India into Bangladesh, where it joins with the Ganges to form a mighty river delta.

For centuries the Brahmaputra has nourished the land, and fed and watered the people on its banks.

Today, though, India and China’s growing economies mean the river is increasingly seen as a source of energy. Both countries are planning major dams on long stretches of the river.

In Assam the plans are being greeted with scepticism and some fear.

The fear is that dams upstream could give China great power over their lives. And many in Assam worry whether China has honourable intentions.

Brahmaputra voices: What next for their river?

Brahmaputra stories: The businessman, the activist, the expert and the official

After a landslide in China in 2000, the river was blocked for several days, unknown to those downstream.

When the water forced its way past the blockage Assam faced an oncoming torrent. There was no advance warning. There are concerns this could happen more frequently.

Some also believe that China may divert water to its parched north – as it has done with other southern rivers.

India’s central government says China has given them assurances about the new Tibetan dams.

“Our foreign ministry has checked with China and we have been told that the flow will not be affected, and we will make sure that the people’s lives are not affected by the dams,” Paban Singh Ghatowar, minister for the development of north-eastern India, told the BBC.

By engaging in a race to dam the Brahmaputra as quickly as possible, China and India will cause cumulative environmental impacts beyond the limits of the river’s ecosystem”

Peter Bosshard

International Rivers Network

Do massive dams ever make sense?

Beijing says the dams it is building on the Tibetan stretch of the river will ease power shortages for people in that region.

“All new projects will go through scientific planning and feasibility studies and the impact to both upstream and downstream will be fully considered,” China’s foreign ministry told the BBC.

It said three new dams at Dagu, Jiacha, and Jeixu were small-scale projects: “They will not affect flood control or the ecological environment of downstream areas,” the foreign ministry said.

Despite the statements, there is no official water-sharing deal between India and China – just an agreement to share monsoon flood data.

via BBC News – Megadams: Battle on the Brahmaputra.

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23/02/2014

India’s Modi Talks Tough on China – India Real Time – WSJ

The frontrunner to become India’s next prime minister traveled to a town near the country’s disputed Himalayan border with China over the weekend and bluntly warned Beijing to abandon its territorial ambitions.

In a sign of rising Indian wariness of its northern neighbor, Hindu nationalist opposition leader Narendra Modi said China “will have to leave behind its mindset of expansion” and said Beijing should work for “development and prosperity.”

For Mr. Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for the premiership in upcoming national elections, it was a rare foray into foreign policy on the campaign trail, where he has focused primarily on a weak domestic economy.

Speaking in Pasighat, a town in India’s northeast Arunachal Pradesh state, and again in Assam near India’s border with Bangladesh, Mr. Modi sought to portray himself as strong on defense and unafraid of other regional powers.

“No power on earth can snatch away Arunachal Pradesh from India,” Mr. Modi said.

India’s next leader will inherit a volatile neighborhood.

In addition to a more assertive and well-armed China, which is looking to play a greater role in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, New Delhi also must deal with the fallout of a diminishing U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan.

Security experts warn that reduced Western presence there could fuel Islamic militancy along India’s already troubled border with Pakistan. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been gripped by internal political tensions.

via India’s Modi Talks Tough on China – India Real Time – WSJ.

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01/12/2013

China, India spar over disputed border | Reuters

China on Saturday urged India not to aggravate problems on the border shared by the two nations, a day after the Indian president toured a disputed region and called it an integral part of the country.

China's President Xi Jinping (R) talks with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (L) during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing October 23, 2013. REUTERS/Peng Sun/Pool

The two countries, which fought a brief border war in 1962, only last month signed a pact to ensure that differences on the border do not spark a confrontation.

But Indian President Pranab Mukherjee\’s visit to the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the remote eastern stretch of the Himalayas that China claims as its own provoked a fresh exchange of words.

\”We hope that India will proceed along with China, protecting our broad relationship, and will not take any measures that could complicate the problem, and together we can protect peace and security in the border regions,\” China\’s official news agency, Xinhua, quoted Qin Gang, a spokesman of the country\’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying.

\”Currently Sino-India relations are developing favorably and both sides are going through special envoy meetings and amicable discussions to resolve the border dispute between our two countries.\”

Mukherjee was on a routine visit to Arunachal which has been part of the Indian state for decades, and where India has regularly been holding elections. But China has of late grown increasingly assertive and questioned New Delhi\’s claims over the territory, calling it instead South Tibet.

Mukherjee told members of the state\’s legislative assembly it was \”a core stakeholder in India\’s Look East foreign policy\” that intends to link the country\’s northeast with South East Asia.

\”We seek to make our neighbors partners in our development,\” Mukherjee said in Itanagar, the state capital. \”We believe that India\’s future and our own best economic interests are served by closer integration with Asia.\”

China lays claim to more than 90,000 sq km (35,000 sq miles) disputed by New Delhi in the eastern sector of the Himalayas, while India says China occupies 38,000 square km of its territory on the Aksai Chin plateau in the west.

via China, India spar over disputed border | Reuters.

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01/12/2013

China claims territories of 23 countries, but only has borders with 14

This article does not give a source ref. However, if it is correct, then together with the new “air defence zone” (https://chindia-alert.org/2013/12/01/china-japan-and-america-face-off-the-economist/), the requirement for Uighur students to demonstrate “approved political views” (https://chindia-alert.org/2013/12/01/xinjiang-college-says-approved-political-views-needed-to-graduate-reuters/) and recent spar with India (https://chindia-alert.org/2013/12/01/china-india-spar-over-disputed-border-reuters/) all point to a new belligerent China. Not good news at all for the world community.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/political-factors/chinese-tensions/

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