| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China lashes out at India for Arunachal remarks |
| 2008-11-11 |
| BEIJING: China on Tuesday took a hard stand on the Arunachal Pradesh issue indicating it is not likely to change its stand for the sake of reaching a settlement over border demarcation. The Chinese foreign ministry challenged a statement made by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying that Arunachal was an integral part of India. "We deeply regret the Indian side's remarks that take no regard of the historical facts. China and India have never officially settled demarcation of borders, and China's stance on the eastern section of China-India borders is consistent and clear-cut," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang at a press conference on Tuesday. Qin's statement is in direct contrast with the views of Indian officials including foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, who have maintained that the issue of Tawang, leave aside the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, is out of the range of border negotiations. The spokesman was replying to a question by the official Xinhua news agency seeking his reaction to Mukherjee's statement. This makes it different from a situation where an official spokesperson is responding to a query from a foreign journalist. It is one of the strongest statements to emanate from China on the issue since India raised objection to the former Chinese foreign minister India strongly protested against an oblique reference to it by former Chinese foreign minister Li Zhaoxing at an international forum in early 2007. With the Chinese government challenging Mukherjee's stance on Arunachal, it is apparent that years of effort at resolving the border problem has come under a cloud. Qin said both the present and past governments in China have never recognized the "illegal" McMahon Line, Qin said. The Indian side know this very well, he said. At the same time, China is willing to find a solution that is fair, reasonable and acceptable to both sides with the help of peaceful and friendly negotiations conducted in a spirit of mutual understanding and adjustment, he said. Mukherjee, who was visiting a 400-year old monastery in Tawang in Arunachal, said on Saturday that China was "fully aware" that the state is an integral part of India. China had earlier claimed Tawang on the plea that it is the birth place of the sixth Dalai Lama before changing its stance to demand the whole of Arunachal Pradesh. "China is often making claims on Arunachal Pradesh, but Arunachal Pradesh has a special place in our heart," Mukherjee said. "People of Arunachal Pradesh regularly elect two representatives to the Lok Sabha and there is an elected state assembly carrying out the responsibility of administration like any of other 27 states. The question of parting company of Arunachal or any of its part does not arise," he said. The external affairs minister spoke nearly the same words as the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman when he said that both countries were keen to find a "fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable" solution to the boundary question. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #1 WORLD MIL FORUM [China/paraph = GOOGLE Chinglish translation] > TIBET DALAI LAMA SUPORTS INDIAN SOVEREIGNTY CLAIMS OVER TAWANG REGION; + CHINA BASES 10 DF-21's MISSLES NEAR SOUTHWEST TIBET-INDIA-MYANMAT BORDER. China is believed to have 50 DF-21's gross, wid remaining 40 targeted agz RUSSIA + JAPAN. * INDIAN MILITARY CONFERENCE > indics that CHINA is DIGGING SERIOUS UNDERGROUND TUNNELS ALONGST TIBET "LINE OF DIRECT/ACTUAL CONTROL" VEE INDIA, to which Indian's mil favors India digging SIMILAR COUNTER-TUNNELS ALONGST SAME??? Also from WMF > US CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE > VIETNAM: CHINA IS THE FOOSTEPS OF OUR TERROR/DESPITE INCREASES IN MUTUAL TRADE AND PRESENCE OF LOCAL CHINESE TRADE GROUPS, MAJOR COUNTRIES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA REMAIN WARY OF CHINESE INFLUENCE AND INTENTIONS [Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore, etc.]. Prefer US/US-WESTERN CENTRIC STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP + COOPER??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-11-11 21:57 |