INDIAN AND CHINESE OFFICIALS MUM ON BORDER TALKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000362

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR SCA AND EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2026
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PBTS IN CH
SUBJECT: INDIAN AND CHINESE OFFICIALS MUM ON BORDER TALKS
PROGRESS


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Classified By: Political Counselor Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. SUMMARY: (C) Indian and Chinese officials are adhering
to a joint "gag rule" regarding their ninth round of border
talks held on 17-18 January, probably exercising
understandable caution after Chinese Ambassador Sun Yaxi's
brash claims to the state of Arunachal Pradesh cast a pall
over President Hu Jintao's November 2006 visit to New Delhi.
In a January 22 meeting with PolCouns, Chinese Political
Counselor Sun Weidong debunked media speculation that India
offered a "soft border" proposal for disputed areas such as
Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh in an effort to break
the logjam. The media reported that the proposal would allow
Chinese to worship at the Tibetan monastery in Tawang.
India's Special Representative for the border talks (and
National Security Advisor) M.K. Narayanan conceded in an
interview that there may be changes in the boundaries during
the final delineation of borders and repudiated the notion
that talks are at a deadlock. He insisted that the two sides
had only reached the second stage of talks, creating an
agreed framework for final delineation of the borders. In
the interview, Narayanan asserted that this was the most
difficult phase of negotiations before the borders could be
settled and could take some time. Regarding China's recent
anti-satellite weapon test, Mr. Sun said that the GOI had not
reacted to media reports, and he "could not confirm anything,
as there is no formal statement from Beijing." END SUMMARY.


2. (C) PolCouns spoke with Chinese Embassy Political
Counselor Sun Weidong on January 22 regarding, inter alia,
the ninth round of India-China border talks that took place
in New Delhi on 17-18 January. Sun dismissed media reports
which speculated that the GOI proposed a "soft border" in
Tawang to facilitate border movement by Chinese, especially
Tibetan, pilgrims, calling such reporting "media writing to
sell newspapers." Sun said that, in addition to meeting with
NSA M.K. Narayanan, Chinese Special Representative Dai
Binggou called on Prime Minister Singh, External Affairs
Minister Mukherjee, and various leaders of the opposition
party, including A.K. Advani, during his visit. Sun noted
that both sides agreed during the 2005 New Delhi visit of
Premier Wen Jiabao that the border issues would not stand in
the way of the broader bilateral relationship, adding that
the overall relationship remained strong. However, he is
"under instructions to refrain from commenting" on the
progress of the border talks "as agreed by both parties."
Sun commented that, as chief negotiator with the Russians on
the multi-decade China-Russia border dispute, Dai Bingguo has
plenty of experience with protracted negotiations.


3. (C) POLOFF discussed the border talks with the MEA Deputy
Secretary for East Asia (China),who said that the two

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Special Representatives continued their discussions on the
basis of the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding
Principles. He emphasized that the talks were held in an
open, friendly, cooperative and constructive atmosphere, but

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declined to discuss details. He did not know when the next
round will be held.


4. (C) M.K. Narayanan, while not specifically commenting on
the current round of border talks, expounded in an interview
on the process as a whole. He explained that the talks are
comprised of three phases:
-Establishing guiding principles and political parameters:
This was accomplished after the fifth round of talks in April

2005.
-Creating an agreed framework: Narayanan emphasized that
this will "take quite some time, I presume. After all, it is
a problem, as the Chinese say, left over from history."
However, he did note that both sides agree that will be "no
major displacement of population."
-Final delineation of borders: Narayanan conjectured that
"it is possible that there may be some amount of changes in
territory," and that "the delineation of the border will
become a much easier exercise."

-------------- With No Instructions, Mum on Missile Test --------------


5. (C) PolCouns also probed Mr. Sun on the GOI's reaction to
last week's reportedly successful Anti-Satellite Weapon's
test. Mr. Sun said that the GOI had not discussed the issue
with the Chinese Embassy. He declined further comment on the
test, saying he had received no instructions from Beijing.


6. (C) COMMENT: Although both sides refused specific
comment on the latest round of border negotiations,
Narayanan's public statements on the general status of the
talks may point to a slight softening in the GOI's position.
His comment regarding "no major displacement of population"
may indicate that India could be amenable to ceding some
Arunachal Pradesh territory, although this would be a tough
sell domestically. He also conceded that "there may be some
changes in territory." China has studiously obeyed the gag
rule regarding border negotiations, both in the media and in
private conversations. It appears likely that no agreement
on the disputed borders is imminent. END COMMENT.

MULFORD