India and China to ink a border deal: Will it ease strained ties?

Christian Science Monitor ^ | 10/22/2013 | Shivam Vij

[TexGrill]

Indian and Chinese diplomats are racing to finalize negotiations over a border defense cooperation pact as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in Beijing for a visit aimed at tackling two of the thorniest snarls in India-China ties – increasingly tense border disputes and a growing trade imbalance.

The border agreement – expected to be signed Wednesday – would be a major confidence building measure between the world’s two most-populous nations after a three-week standoff at the border earlier this year.

“The two countries already have mechanisms to prevent tension on the disputed border but this agreement could immensely enhance those measures,” says Alka Acharya, professor of Chinese Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Advance warnings of border patrols and greater real-time communication are among those measures, he says.

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India and China share a disputed 2,500-mile long border stretching from India’s extreme north in Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, known as the Line of Actual Control, in India’s northeast.

In May, just before the new Chinese premier Li Keqiang's visit to New Delhi, India accused China's People's Liberation Army of intruding six miles into Indian territory and setting up a camp, prompting Indian troops to set up their own nearby camp in response. The standoff lasted three weeks, ending when India removed military structures the Chinese perceived as threatening.

[TexGrill]

Global business tip

[TBP]

Birds of a feather...

[AngelicStormz]

To accept the genetic affinity in the region is to avoid squirmishes and produce positive solutions. China has an enourmous regional scale since Tibet. Perhaps, this should be questioned.