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Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006
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Bonhomie on border

Sandeep Dikshit

Sanctity of LAC maintained

BUM-LA (On the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control): Senior Army officers from India and China met here ahead of Chinese President Hu Jin Tao's visit later this month and "praised" each other for maintaining the sanctity of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

At a closed-door meeting in Chinese territory, Army delegations from both sides "commented upon the good relations and the growing friendship between the two nations in the year gone by," said Brigadier Sanjay Kulkarni, delegation leader from the Indian Army.

Meeting in tents erected by the Chinese Army on a snow strewn plateau ringed by observations posts of both armies on the surrounding peaks, Brig. Kulkarni said the year's fourth and the last meeting was utilised for an informal interaction aimed at further trust and confidence. There has been no incident of confrontation between troops in this sector on their perception of the boundary between the two nations for two decades, he noted. The Indian side raised the issue of straying of a villager into China and leader of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Col. Li Ming Yan assured Brig. Kulkarni that they would try to locate and repatriate him.

Repatriated

A paramilitary jawan who crossed the LAC inadvertently during a blizzard was repatriated at a flag meeting on the flat mountain pass at a height of over 15,000 feet.

Terming the repatriation a "step in the right direction," Brig. Kulkarni said the gesture was reciprocated by both sides. "There is no tension as on date. If that villager is there, they said he will be sent. We also send back cattle that has strayed from their side," he said.

The border personnel meetings (BPM) began in 1999 to resolve disputes over differing perceptions of the border. The impetus at the military level came from the 1996 agreement on confidence building measures (CBMs) in the military field. It was supplemented by a protocol on the implementation of these CBMs in the military field during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit last year. As a result, both sides now hold four meetings every year at this mountain pass as against two earlier.

This area has five "sensitive areas" or places where dispute is likely to arise due to differences in perception, but no armed confrontation has taken place since 1986.

"The institutional mechanism of scheduled and special BPMs have positively helped in increasing ties between the two countries. It is a big step in the agreements on [military] CBMs. Surely, they may in future help resolve the [border] dispute," said Brig. Kulkarni.

After initial hesitation, the meeting saw officers of the Indian Army and PLA shed reservations and mingle freely with each other to pose for photographs with each other. Mediapersons too joined in the interaction.

Symbolic gesture

The BPM began with a six-member delegation led by Brig. Kulkarni marching to the "heap of stones," the demarcation point of the LAC on the Tawang-Bum-La-Nagdon Road, which enmeshes with the Tibean plateau. Commanders from both sides place stones at this point as a symbolic gesture of friendship.

The heap has now grown to a 20-feet pile owing to the frequent meetings.

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