Wen Jiabao says Indians - Chinese brothers

Rediff ^

[The Incredible One]

Reviving the five-decades old slogan 'Hindi Chini, Bhai Bhai', Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on Tuesday asserted that the two countries are not rivals or competitors but friendly neighbours out to improve their relations through cooperation.

Noting that India and China are the largest developing countries, he talked about Panchsheel and emphasised that the two countries should work together to make the 21st century that of Asia.

Complete Coverage: Wen Jiabao in India

"Some see India and China as competitors...I disagree," Wen said interacting with the students of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi before winding up his four-day visit to the country.

He concluded the address by raising that famous 1950s slogan clouded by the 1962 war -- 'Hindi Chini, Bhai Bhai'.

The Chinese leader underlined that his country wished to see India "prosperous and developed. Also prosperous and developed China is in India's interest."

Charming the young audience while hailing India's progress in recent years, he elaborately quoted Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen and Deng Xiaoping and referred to Chinese traveller Huan Tsang's historic visit to India to lay emphasis on the historic friendly ties between the two neighbours which needed to be given a lift.

Wen said India and China should "close ranks" on international issues and enhance communication and coordination to work together to promote establishment of a just international economic and political order.

The Chinese premier said the trade relations between the two countries were not commensurate with their potential.

He said India is strong in a number of sectors like farm products, auto-parts and pharmaceuticals which will be highly competitive in China where a strong demand existed for India's service sector also.

Similarly, China is strong in areas like electronic goods and could find a market in India, he said.

Noting that India and China had registered a remarkable success by moving from poverty to prosperity in the last 50 years, Wen said it was "critically important" for the two countries to keep their relations on track for development of both the nations besides peace and development in Asia and the world at large.

He stressed the need for developing relations from specific issues to comprehensive relations and expressed confidence that all problems can be resolved through "peaceful development".

Referring to the five principles of peaceful co-existence outlined in 'Panchsheel' in 1954, he said it had left an indelible impression on peace and security in Asia.

He said he respected democracy and good neighbourly ties as well as dignity for his motherland. "China respects those who respect others," he said.

[The Incredible One]

Indo China war of 1962

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http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/indo-prc_1962.htm

The Chinese have two major claims on what India deems its own territory. One claim, in the western sector, is on Aksai Chin in the northeastern section of Ladakh District in Jammu and Kashmir. The other claim is in the eastern sector over a region included in the British-designated North-East Frontier Agency, the disputed part of which India renamed Arunachal Pradesh and made a state. In the fight over these areas, the well-trained and well-armed troops of the Chinese People's Liberation Army overpowered the ill-equipped Indian troops, who had not been properly acclimatized to fighting at high altitudes.

Unable to reach political accommodation on disputed territory along the 3,225-kilometer-long Himalayan border, the Chinese attacked India on October 20, 1962. At the time, nine divisions from the eastern and western commands were deployed along the Himalayan border with China. None of these divisions was up to its full troop strength, and all were short of artillery, tanks, equipment, and even adequate articles of clothing.

In Ladakh the Chinese attacked south of the Karakoram Pass at the northwest end of the Aksai Chin Plateau and in the Pangong Lake area about 160 kilometers to the southeast. The defending Indian forces were easily ejected from their posts in the area of the Karakoram Pass and from most posts near Pangong Lake. However, they put up spirited resistance at the key posts of Daulat Beg Oldi (near the entrance to the pass) and Chushul (located immediately south of Pangong Lake and at the head of the vital supply road to Leh, a major town and location of an air force base in Ladakh). Other Chinese forces attacked near Demchok (about 160 kilometers southeast of Chusul) and rapidly overran the Demchok and the Jara La posts.

In the eastern sector, in Assam, the Chinese forces advanced easily despite Indian efforts at resistance. On the first day of the fighting, Indian forces stationed at the Tsang Le post on the northern side of the Namka Chu, the Khinzemane post, and near Dhola were overrun. On the western side of the North-East Frontier Agency, Tsang Dar fell on October 22, Bum La on October 23, and Tawang, the headquarters of the Seventh Infantry Brigade, on October 24. The Chinese made an offer to negotiate on October 24. The Indian government promptly rejected this offer.

With a lull in the fighting, the Indian military desperately sought to regroup its forces. Specifically, the army attempted to strengthen its defensive positions in the North-East Frontier Agency and Ladakh and to prepare against possible Chinese attacks through Sikkim and Bhutan. Army units were moved from Calcutta, Bihar, Nagaland, and Punjab to guard the northern frontiers of West Bengal and Assam. Three brigades were hastily positioned in the western part of the North-East Frontier Agency, and two other brigades were moved into Sikkim and near the West Bengal border with Bhutan to face the Chinese. Light Stuart tanks were drawn from the Eastern Command headquarters at Calcutta to bolster these deployments.

In the western sector, a divisional organization was established in Leh; several battalions of infantry, a battery of twenty-five-pounder guns, and two troops of AMX light tanks were airlifted into the Chushul area from Punjab. On November 4, the Indian military decided that the post at Daulat Beg Oldi was untenable, and its defenders were withdrawn over the 5,300-meter-high Sasar Brangsa Pass to a more defensible position.

The reinforcements and redeployments in Ladakh proved sufficient to defend the Chushul perimeter despite repeated Chinese attacks. However, the more remote posts at Rezang La and Gurung Hill and the four posts at Spanggur Lake area fell to the Chinese.

In the North-East Frontier Agency, the situation proved to be quite different. Indian forces counterattacked on November 13 and captured a hill northwest of the town of Walong. Concerted Chinese attacks dislodged them from this hard-won position, and the nearby garrison had to retreat down the Lohit Valley.

In another important section of the eastern sector, the Kameng Frontier Division, six Chinese brigades attacked across the Tawang Chu near Jang and advanced some sixteen kilometers to the southeast to attack Indian positions at Nurang, near Se La, on November 17. Despite the Indian attempt to regroup their forces at Se La, the Chinese continued their onslaught, wiping out virtually all Indian resistance in Kameng. By November 18, the Chinese had penetrated close to the outskirts of Tezpur, Assam, a major frontier town nearly fifty kilometers from the Assam-North-East Frontier Agency border.

The Chinese did not advance farther and on November 21 declared a unilateral cease-fire. They had accomplished all of their territorial objectives, and any attempt to press farther into the plains of Assam would have stretched their logistical capabilities and their lines of communication to a breaking point. By the time the fighting stopped, each side had lost 500 troops.

India considers recurring Sino-Indian border clashes a potential threat to its security. Since the war, each side continued to improve its military and logistics capabilities in the disputed regions. China has continued its occupation of the Aksai Chin area, through which it built a strategic highway linking Xizang and Xinjiang autonomous regions. China had a vital military interest in maintaining control over this region, whereas India's primary interest lay in Arunachal Pradesh, its state in the northeast bordering Xizang Autonomous Region.

In 1987, although India enjoyed air superiority, rough parity on the ground existed between the two military forces, which had a combined total of nearly 400,000 troops near the border. The Indian Army deployed eleven divisions in the region, backed up by paramilitary forces, whereas the PLA had fifteen divisions available for operations on the border. After a 1986 border clash and India's conversion of Arunachal Pradesh from union territory to state, tensions between China and India escalated. Both sides moved to reinforce their capabilities in the area, but neither ruled out further negotiations of their dispute. Most observers believe that the mountainous terrain, high-altitude climate, and concomitant logistic difficulties made it unlikely that a protracted or larges-cale conflict would erupt on the Sino-Indian border.

Negotiations since the 1962 Sino-Indian border war have taken place to resolve the conflicting border claims. After more than thirty years of border tension and stalemate, high-level bilateral talks were held in New Delhi starting in February 1994 to foster "confidence-building measures" between the defense forces of India and China, and a new period of better relations began.

[The Great Yazoo]

I'll respond when I have a chance to review materials on Moorcroft's and Gromchevsky's travels at home.

[The Incredible One]

as long as they include details on Yuriyatin and the beautiful Lara Antiopova. he he he..just kidding..

[The Great Yazoo]

[The Incredible One]

and her phone number too..:-)

[The Great Yazoo]

My wife made me throw it away.:(

[Gengis Khan]

Condi did screw up. There was lots of back room rumours about an Indo-US alliance to be announced. The post Tsunami US-India-Japan-Australia "core group" rheoteric was being taken quite seriously by the media. But after the F-16s sale to Pakistan the mood here has changed. India is now wary of an alliance with the US.
It doesnt mean that India has already joined the Chinese camp but just that its a good idea to cool of the relationship with China.

[muawiyah]

In the long run India and Pakistan have to be on the same side vis a vis the Pashtoons and the Chinese.

In the shortrun they are still considering the utility of lobbing nukes at each other.

You cannot hold Condi accountable for either party ~ this has been going on for a very long time!

[Gengis Khan]

"In the long run India and Pakistan have to be on the same side vis a vis the Pashtoons and the Chinese."

That is very much like saying that N.Korea and S.Korea will have to be on the same sides against the Communists or Isreal and Iran will have to be on the same side against islamofacists.

Yes Condi is not responsible for the Indo-Pak squabble but she is responsible for Indo-US relations cooling off.

[The Incredible One]

In the long run India and Pakistan have to be on the same side vis a vis the Pashtoons and the Chinese.

in the long run israel and iran and saudi arabia will have to be on the same side against kuwait. /sarcasm. the indians and the pakistanis will never be on the same side. islam has never sought out or made allies with the kafirs unless it suited it. the pakis regards jooooos and hindus as being responsible for the majority of the worlds problems.

[muawiyah]

The difference here is called the Rajput warrior caste ~ Islam never quite got rid of it among Pakistanis. Same guys run everything in India too ~ these people even go to the same schools, and swap daughters for marriage purposes.

In any case, there are more Moslems in India than in Pakistan.

The Chinese don't really distinguish among these guys anyway, and in the race for Africa (after everybody there dies of AIDS and other diseases), the slant of your eye and your skin tone will make a lot of difference how the other guys look at you.

[The Incredible One]

The difference here is called the Rajput warrior caste ~ Islam never quite got rid of it among Pakistanis. Same guys run everything in India too ~ these people even go to the same schools, and swap daughters for marriage purposes.

ROTFL...My god..I dont know how to respond to that one!! The Rajputs are a tiny fraction of India's population. The Pakistani rulers are Punjabis and NOT Rajputs and never were..

In any case, there are more Moslems in India than in Pakistan.

yes india does have a fifth column working for pakistan. and your point is?? these guys are against the hindu population. why would india work with its enemies? it is like saying 20% of israel is arab and hence the israelis are pro-arab. lol.

The Chinese don't really distinguish among these guys anyway, and in the race for Africa (after everybody there dies of AIDS and other diseases), the slant of your eye and your skin tone will make a lot of difference how the other guys look at you.

when they all die..it really doesnt matter..does it? /sarcasm

[muawiyah]

Did you ever take a really good look at the fellows in the officer's uniforms who run the Pak army?

They even have a "family resemblance" to their counterparts who run the Indian army.

Everything else is just a shadow play to keep the foreigners entertained, and out of the country.

[The Incredible One]

Did you ever take a really good look at the fellows in the officer's uniforms who run the Pak army? They even have a "family resemblance" to their counterparts who run the Indian army.

you are funny....

[aidni]

This relation all depends on the unrest of Kashmir territory. As long as this is not solved and China continues to claim Kashmir as their territory, I don't think this enhancing relationship will last. The part of Kashmir China claims as its 'Aksai Chin' is already under its control and further India has no plans to take it back. On the contrary it will be formerly given to them as part of the border settlement agreement while they would relinquish their claim over Arunachal so wake up Condi

[aidni]

Chinese or the Mongals never invaded India except in 62

[muawiyah]

About 1600 years ago Greater India exercised substantial control over the coastal areas East of that part now called Burma.

Chinese began invading the area and next thing you know there was Thailand.

[aidni]

About 1600 years ago Greater India exercised substantial control over the coastal areas East of that part now called Burma. 1600 years ago there was a nation called India 'news to me'

[muawiyah]

Well, OK, Mahabarat then. Whatever name suits your fancy. The folks in the subcontinent and it's hinterlands have had high kings on and off for many thousands of years.

[aidni]

Individual kings and dynasty have had control over different part of Asia depending over there individual strength. By your inference India which was much more recently under the control of British should be considered a part of England.

Why the areas that make up India should be part of it actually has no common thread. India of today is a union of people who are of
Different Religion, speak different languages are of different ethnicity and are a part of a India not because they always have been one but because British brought them under one umbrella

these people together fought for freedom and thus are united today

When you talk of history you talk of individual kings who ruled areas what is now called India and lastly just because few Indian kings one had influence over Indo-China does not mean it is India by that definition of yours Afghanistan, Cambodia , Indonesia all under different Indian rulers at different point of time should be India and Andaman which was never ruled by any Indian king should not be its part just doesn't add up