Some Plainspeak, At Last
(Sunil Narula & R Sengupta | Outlook | May 11, 1998)
Tibet, and Beijing's military aid to Pakistan dominate the Chinese army chief's visit to India
For once the Indians did not pull their punches. The much awaited visit by Gen Fu Quanyou, chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, saw some plaintalking from the Indian side, though framed in diplomatic niceties. But the hamhanded handling of Tibetans' hunger strike by the Indian authorities, which ended tragically with one Tibetan self-immolating himself on April 27, nearly overshadowed this important visit.
The hunger strike by Tibetan Youth Congress volunteers started on March 10. But the government paid scant attention to it till the wee hours of April 26, when it suddenly decided to move in and remove three of the six hunger strikers to hospital.
The one issue on which the Chinese take India seriously is Tibet, as they believe the Dalai Lama can orchestrate much mischief from here.
After that, claims Choekyong Wangchuk, secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, they were assured by the Parliament Street police station that nothing would happen for the next few days. But the next day, the police moved in again to remove all of them. That's when Thupten Ngodup, a 60-year-old Tibetan activist, set himself ablaze. That act brought the focus back on the Tibetan strikers, something the authorities wanted to avoid. The government's sudden anxiety in getting rid of the Tibetan hunger strikers had little to do with the deteriorating health of those fasting, but the fact that Gen. Fu was going to be in New Delhi on April 27 and 28 to meet Indian leaders. In the end, the timing was all wrong and the government made a complete hash of it; it could have removed them a week earlier or simply let them be.
No doubt, the Chinese army chief's trip to India is a significant event. Naturally the government did not want any irritant like the protest by the Tibetans, which Beijing is sensitive to. Sure enough, the Chinese delegation expressed reservations over the political activities of the Tibetans here. They conveyed their concern at the increasingly overt political activities of Tibetans. The Indian response was standard, that the government does not allow this kind of activity, but as India is a democratic country, it can't completely stop such protests.
But the more significant aspect of the visit was that the Indians, perhaps for the first time, did some straight talking with the Chinese. Defence minister George Fernandes expressed India's concerns over the supply of Chinese missiles like M-11 and M-9 to Pakistan. In fact, India suspects that Ghauri, the recently tested missile, is a variant of a Chinese missile. The Chinese expectedly denied they had supplied anything to Pakistan that would violate the Missile Technology Control Regime.
The visit brought out the dichotomy in India's approach to China. While the defence ministry has always advocated a more aggressive and straight-talking posture, the MEA has tended to play it cautiously. Army and defence ministry officials argue that they are the ones who have to deal constantly with the Chinese either on the border or face the repercussions of Chinese supplies to Pakistan of either nuclear or missile technology. The MEA, on its part, hushes the contentious aspects of Sino-Indian relations. In fact, the MEA was not happy when, immediately after taking over, Fernandes started issuing statements critical of the Chinese, especially on the Ghauri missile.
The implementation of confidence building measures, like redeployment and reduction of armed forces on the border, delineation of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Chinese maps showing Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh as part of their territory, were among the other issues which came up for discussion in Gen. Fu's meetings with Fernandes. In another meeting, prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee drew attention to the problems along the LAC.
The Chinese official is believed to have agreed that the two countries should move forward in delineating the LAC.
The helipad in Arunachal Pradesh also came up during the talks. Vajpayee had contradicted his defence minister's statement on this some weeks ago. Sources said Gen. Fu clearly conveyed to the Indian side that such issues should not be raised publicly. The helipad was built some time in the mid-'80s and the Indian government was aware of this. It's a makeshift helipad, occasionally used by the Chinese, which the Chinese claim is on their side of the LAC in the Sumdarongchu valley.
The Indian army is believed to be keen on institutionalising a process of regular dialogue with the Chinese army. While there is a system of flag meetings on the border, there has been a certain drift in these contacts in recent years. The Chinese are believed to have agreed to refocus attention on this issue. Army chief Gen VP Malik is said to have taken this up with the Chinese delegation. But it is difficult to see a direct, institutionalised dialogue between the armed forces beginning in the near future.
Interestingly, Gen Fu was accompanied by a tri-service delegation, including Lt Gen. Liao Xilong, commander of the Chengdu Military Region in which Tibet falls. When Chinese president Jiang Zemin visited India in December 1996, he too was accompanied by the chairman of the Chinese Autonomous Region of Tibet, Gyaltsen Norbu.
For China, the separatist movement in Tibet is a serious problem. They are worried with the increasing support that the Tibetans have mustered in the West, particularly in the US, where both the government and the public have given tremendous support to the Dalai Lama. The Chinese feel considerable mischief can be orchestrated from India, given the fact that the Dalai Lama resides here. Indeed, if there is one issue on which the Chinese take India seriously, it is Tibet. In fact, Indian defence analysts agree that China does not even consider India a serious security threat. The Chinese, on the other hand, through supplies of nuclear and missile technology to Pakistan, have managed to pin India down to dealing with Pakistan. Which is why there is growing support in the Indian establishment for further tests of the Agni missile, that can strike deep inside China. And it would not be surprising if a test comes very soon.
As for the self-immolation, the first of its kind, it is not clear whether it marks a shift from the non-violent methods which have characterised the Tibetan movement so far. There is no doubt that the Tibetans are raising the tempo as they state their demands: resumption of the UN debate on Tibet based on earlier resolutions; appointment of a special UN rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation in Tibet; and a UN supervised plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the Tibetan people. Wangchuk does not think much of the renewed Chinese offer for conditional talks with the Dalai Lama. "This is an old offer," he said.
The Dalai Lama, on his part, while saying he was deeply saddened by the self-immolation by a Tibetan volunteer, said he is against any form of violence, including hunger strikes and self-immolation. But given the growing fervour among activists, can he prevent such demonstrations?
Friends of Tibet (INDIA),
PO Box 16674, Bombay 400050
www.friendsoftibet.org