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 NEW DELHI 00000362 001.2 OF 002 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 SIPDIS 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 NEW DELHI 00000362 002.2 OF 002 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