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The Rediff Special/ G P Deshpande

Deteriorating Sino-Indian relations put Asia's future in risk

India and China: two large countries, two ancient countries, two neighbours, the world's two most populous countries... One can go on counting these special shared features. There are also contrasts. China has had no tradition of liberal democracy. Its polity has been authoritarian, centralised as far back in history as one can remember. The Indian state is relatively new. There was no Indian state prior to British colonisation. There was India, though, with several Indian states, which might account for its ready acceptance of a pluralistic liberal political framework.

China has always been a state with a centralised and authoritarian system. Disorder was external to China. It was at least partially internal to India.

All these (and many more) similarities and dissimilarities explain,partially at any rate, the nature of Sino-Indian relations over the last 50 years. Next year, the People's Republic of China will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its birth. On the other hand, India has just commemorated the golden jubilee of its independent existence and, no less significant, 50 years of its existence as a united state.

In 2000, India will mark its 50th anniversary as a Republic. India-China relations in terms of relations between states will also be 50 years old. It was in February 1950 that diplomatic ties between Beijing and New Delhi were established.

The heightened tension between the two countries following India's nuclear explosions could not have come at a more inappropriate time. It is a serious development and poses problems for South Asian politics. It raises questions about the future of bilateral relations between India and China. But that is not all. Asia's future as a whole is at a stake.

These developments need not come as a total surprise. During the last 50 years, there are very few years which can be described as tension free and promising in India-China relations. The first three, four years of the People's Republic were dominated by the Korean war and the integration of Tibet into China. These prevented the Chinese from looking beyond their immediate and pressing problems. They were content to follow Stalin and the Soviet Union's lead in international politics. Things started changing after Stalin's death in 1953.

Premier Chou Enlai visited India in 1954. This was the first peacetime visit of a Communist head of government to any non-Communist country. This fact is vitally important. A new chapter opened in Sino-Indian relations. It also heralded a new strategy in the Communist state's foreign policies.

The new phase was heralded with great fanfare. Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai (Indians and Chinese are brothers) was the most famous slogan of the period. The Panchsheel Agreement (Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence) also dates from Chou's visit in 1954. All this led to increased contacts between the two countries. Nehru visited China. Chou Enlai came here twice later, once in 1956 and the second time in 1960.

The bright and friendly period in India-China relations did not last long. Why did relations change for the worse? It would require a whole book to analyse that. Briefly put, however, the following factors seem to be responsible for the same.

1. The border problem between India and China

No matter who was responsible, it is clear that both countries have not been able to sort out the complex problem involving the now forgotten history of most inaccessible territory. Forty years later, the problem remains unresolved. The military conflict of 1962 stopped after the unilateral declaration of ceasefire by China. Beijing has more or less succeeded in asserting its claims.

1. China-Pakistan relations

It is difficult to fathom the depth of this relationship. During the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 or 1971, China's sympathies have been more with Pakistan. At the same time its posture, both in 1965 or 1971, cannot be described as one of unqualified and indisputable hostility to India. It is possible to agree that China has always tried to keep as much of communication with India as possible. There is some criticism in the Indian media and elsewhere that China is in some manner involved in Pakistan's weaponisation and nuclear/missile programmes. It is impossible to determine the extent or the exact nature of China's involvement. But that it is involved seems plausible.

Among all the problems between India and China, China's relationship with Pakistan seems to be the most intractable and not at all offering an easy of solution.

India-China relations, continued

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