Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Beijing on
Sunday for a five-day visit to China, as the two countries are
further building military trust between each other.
Since the "strategic co-operative partnership" was forged
between China and India last year, impressive advances have been
made in the two sides' economic and security co-operation. But
there remains a lack of mutual trust, particularly with relation to
military affairs. This is a result of the lingering influence of
the border clashes between the two nations in 1962, India's
development of nuclear weapons and the recent nuclear co-operation
deal between New Delhi and Washington.
Against this backdrop, Defence Minister Mukherjee's China visit
has particularly positive connotations in terms of strengthening
the two countries' military mutual trust, as well as overcoming
obstacles in the way of developing the Sino-Indian strategic
partnership.
Sino-Indian military co-operation has been virtually frozen
since the border clashes in 1962. This makes it extremely difficult
to develop military mutual trust.
India has treated China as a potential adversary, setting up
mountain warfare units, expanding its military strength and
frequently staging military exercises in the areas close to China.
At the same time, China's friendly relations with some South Asian
countries and normal military activities were regarded with a great
deal of suspicion.
As the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, China and India began
to share more common ground in bringing about a new international
political and economic order, opposing power politics, and also in
fields such as human rights and environmental protection. As a
result, bilateral relations have significantly improved. Chinese
and Indian leaders have, for instance, exchanged visits and the
Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility Along the
Lines of Actual Control in the China-India Border Areas was signed
in 1993.
The pact made it clear that both China and India had realized
the necessity that trust-based effective measures in military terms
be introduced in the border areas of actual control, noting the
positive role played by measures that had already been introduced.
The agreement stated that the two sides would be committed to
improving military trust and transparency.
No border clashes or friction have occurred between China and
India since the signing of the agreement in 1993. With the easing
of hostile attitudes, military personnel in the border areas from
both sides started to invite each other for border talks and send
congratulations to each other on red-letter days, all being signs
of an obvious improvement in military relations.
The two sides' defence industries have also embarked upon
technical co-operation, while joint military exercises also came on
the agenda.
But all this was suspended in 1998 when the bilateral relations
plummeted to a new low in the wake of India's nuclear test.
Upon entering the 21st century, the two countries began to have
more common ground as far as security is concerned. Both believe
that security, in the current international situation, has been
extended from military and political terms to cover economic,
scientific and technological, environmental and cultural fields,
security in one field must be sustained by security in others, and
mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and co-operation are the
guarantees of co-operation.
In addition, economic ties between the two countries got
increasingly closer, evidenced by the sharp growth of trade volume
from US$100 million in 1994 to US$13.6 billion in 2004.
Chinese and Indian leaders signed The Joint Declaration on
Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Co-operation in June
2003, which eventually laid down the guiding principles and set the
goals for bilateral relations, declaring clearly that the two
countries would respect and take care of mutual concerns and that
the two sides should not constitute a threat to each other.
The signing of this landmark declaration marked the end of the
volatile relations between the two nations and signified that
bilateral ties had entered a new phase of smooth and steady
development, with co-operation as the central theme.
During his visit to India in April 2005, Premier Wen Jiabao signed China-India joint communiqué
with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh. This announced the
establishment of peace- and prosperity-orientated strategic
co-operative partnership between the two most populous countries in
the world. This was a positive and clear signal sent to the whole
world that China and India had decided to raise the level of their
relations and march towards the future hand in hand, as Premier Wen
said at the time.
Judging from the current situation, military mutual trust and
co-operation have become an important factor influencing future
co-operation between the two sides.
In recent years, China's assistance in the construction of ports
in Myanmar and Pakistan aroused India's suspicions. Meanwhile,
reports have appeared in the media claiming that China's growing
military strength poses a threat to its neighbors.
At the same time, the Indian navy's power in the South China Sea
region has also concerned Chinese researchers.
Military distrust has spilled over to other sectors. For
example, co-operation between Chinese and Indian business is
subjected to groundless suspicion and restraint.
In view of all this, bringing about substantial military mutual
trust becomes imperative.
Fortunately, exchanges and co-operation between the Chinese and
Indian militaries have made initial progress, with both countries
expecting this century to be an era of peaceful and friendly
co-operation. This progress has found an expression in increased
visits by senior defence officials from both countries and in the
expansion of military research exchanges. Then Indian Defence
Minister George Fernandes, for instance, visited China in April
2003. In November of the same year, an Indian fleet visited
Shanghai and staged a marine rescue exercises in the East China Sea
with Chinese navy, the first joint Sino-Indian joint military
exercises.
It is believed that Mukherjee's China visit, in the context of
strengthening US-Indian military ties and US-Indian nuclear and
space collaboration, would help clear away misgivings and concerns
harbored by some Chinese military researchers. It is hoped that
more feasible military exchanges be carried out so that Sino-Indian
military ties could be further enhanced.
If former Indian Defence Minister Fernandes' China visit marked
the start of a new era in Sino-Indian military relations,
Mukherjee's current visit will help raise Sino-Indian military
mutual trust to a higher level.
Looking back, the last five decades or so have witnessed ups and
downs and twists and turns in the development of Sino-Indian
relations. For example, China and India launched the Five
Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the 1950s but a fierce border
war broke out between the two nations just a few years later. This
indicates that declarations, statements, principles and even
agreements are no guarantee of healthy bilateral ties. Real mutual
trust is what really counts.
Bearing all of this in mind, both China and India should never
forget the lessons of history, while also strengthening mutual
understanding and clearing away misunderstandings. In the words of
former Indian Defence Minister Fernandes, India and China must bury
their unpleasant past. Friendliness accounts for 99.99 percent of
the 2,200-year-old Sino-Indian exchanges and misunderstanding
merely 0.01 percent. It is high time we buried that 0.01
percent.
?
(China Daily May 30, 2006)
