Pranab Dhal Samanta
The Economic Times
April 22, 2015
Moving beyond its earlier emphasis on Jammu & Kashmir being a “disputed” area, China has agreed to host India’s Northern Army Commander this year, a visit that went on hold five years ago after Beijing insisted on issuing stapled visa to the officer because J&K came under his command.
This understanding was reached at the recently concluded defence dialogue between both the countries, which took place just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China next month. At this meeting, the Indian side made a strong push on Beijing to demonstrate that the J&K stapled visa issue was now a matter of the past.
It was eventually agreed that both sides will exchange visits between commanders responsible for the Western Sector (India’s Northern Command) of the Line of Actual Control this year. The head of the Lanzhou military region will undertake the reciprocal visit from the Chinese side. “When they have agreed to the visit, they obviously know what kind of visa to be issued,” a senior official told ET on the question of whether China could still spring a surprise.
This exchange is a crucial element of the web of military confidence building measures both countries have gradually put in place to keep the LAC tranquil and for that reason, the Chinese decision in 2010 caught New Delhi off guard. It also raised levels of public anger against China as its view on J&K endorsed the long-held Pakistan position.
China has continued to issue stapled visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh because it considers the state to be a disputed areas between India and China. However, in J&K, India’s principal dispute is with Pakistan and the stapled visa row stoked sentiments that derailed the bilateral relationship for over a year with India cancelling any kind of defence exchange. India also conveyed through diplomatic channels that it too could take a range of reciprocal measures which could embarrass China, particularly if that is related to the Tibet Autonomous Region.
After considerable back and forth, the matter inched towards a resolution in April 2011 when former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited China for the BRICS summit. At that meet, both sides agreed to resume defence exchange and let general officers just below the rung of the Army Commander. Subsequently, the Eastern Army Commander visited China last year, and so did then Army chief Gen Bikram Singh. However, the political question around the Northern Army Commander was still nagging issue as the matter got delayed with time, which is why, sources said, the Indian side decided to insist on the visit at this meeting.
