The India-China border has been an irritant since the hostilities between the two countries in 1962. The Line of Actual Control erupts from time to time. The acrimony surfaced late last year when India and China called off boundary talks because of Beijing’s opposition to a Buddhist congregation in Delhi attended by the Dalai Lama. The two countries have now agreed to the setting up of a joint working mechanism meant to prevent any flare-up on the border and ensure peace. The Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs was signed by two special representatives, NSA Shivshankar Menon and Dai Bingguo. The agreement aims at timely communication of information on border incidents from both sides for its appropriate handling and other cooperation activities in the border areas. The mechanism will be headed by a joint secretary level official from the Indian external affairs ministry and a director general level official from the Chinese foreign ministry. It will however not be empowered to discuss resolution of the boundary question.
The new set-up is no big deal. The foreign ministries of both countries will continue to deal directly with border incidents. Tibetans in Delhi have dismissed the move as eyewash. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has however said that good cooperation between the two neighbours will bring great changes in the world. All this seems at odds with recent happenings souring relations between the two countries-the treatment of an Indian official in Beijing, denial of visa in Arunachal Pradesh and finally the new strategy adopted by China to share inputs with the ISI on India’s restive regions, especially the Northeast. Beijing’s key interest is in the Dalai Lama set-up and India’s alleged involvement in it.