The Hindu : Sikkim, no longer an `independent country' on official Chinese website

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 09, 2003

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Sikkim, no longer an `independent country' on official Chinese website

By Amit Baruah

NUSA DUA (BALI) OCT. 8. Beijing has removed Sikkim as an "independent country" from the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, announced after a meeting between the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, at a scenic Bali resort today.

Asked whether China would adhere to its commitment that Sikkim's status as an "independent country" would be altered in official Chinese maps as well, Mr. Sibal said that Mr. Wen had made it clear that Beijing would keep its commitments.

With the deletion of Sikkim from the country category in the official website, China has begun the process of acting on its promises in relation to the accord on opening border trade between China and India through Sikkim, highly placed sources in the Indian delegation said.

No dramatic announcement saying that Sikkim is an "integral part" of India is expected — the removal from official maps is a process that will satisfy the Government of India. The sources said the latest Chinese move could only add substance to the rapprochement process between the two countries.

The June accord on expanding border trade had said: "The Indian side agrees to designate Changgu of Sikkim State as the venue for border trade market, the Chinese side agrees to designate Ranqinggang of the Tibet Autonomous Region as the venue for border trade market."

Mr. Sibal also stated that the first-ever talks between the Indian and Chinese Special Representatives, Brajesh Mishra and Dai Bingguo, to explore the resolution of the boundary dispute from a political perspective, would be held in New Delhi on October 23. Prior to the Wen-Vajpayee meeting, the Chinese Government had informed India that Sikkim would be dropped from the official website. "It was done yesterday," Mr. Sibal said.

The Foreign Secretary described the meeting between the two Prime Ministers, the second in three months, as remarkable for its "cordiality and frankness". The Chinese Premier made repeated references to the "successful" visit of Mr. Vajpayee to Beijing in June. With reference to the coming meeting between the Special Representatives, Mr. Wen said that the boundary dispute needed to be resolved in a "long-term and strategic perspective".

Mr. Wen reiterated that 99 per cent of the India-China relationship had been positive and that the two countries must put behind them a couple of years of poor ties. He expressed the confidence that the remaining issues could be settled "with clear political determination" from both sides.

Alluding to the multilateral "ASEAN plus" setting of the Vajpayee-Wen meeting, the Chinese leader said the world was "watching" the efforts of the two countries to take their relationship forward. The decision to address the boundary issue had sent an important message to the outside world, Mr. Wen is reported to have said.

The Chinese leader also pointed out that ASEAN, East Asia and India together formed half the world's population — a total of three billion. Taken together, these countries could make a significant contribution to global stability and development.

"Mr. Vajpayee was naturally in agreement that a very good beginning had been made and that a political solution should be found to the border dispute," Mr. Sibal told presspersons.

The process of clarifying the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector would continue in the Joint Working Group, Mr. Sibal said adding that it was hoped that the spirit surrounding the upcoming Special Representatives' talks would also permeate the clarification process.

Asked if there would be any deadline to resolve the boundary dispute, the Foreign Secretary responded that considering that the problem had remained unresolved for at least 41 years, setting artificial deadlines to resolve it would not be appropriate.

To a question whether India had raised the issue of a Chinese border patrol "intrusion" into Arunachal Pradesh in June, Mr. Sibal said this did not figure in the talks.

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