Indian Foreign Policy and the Border Dispute with China PDF
Preview Indian Foreign Policy and the Border Dispute with China
INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY ANDTHE BORDER DISPUTE WITH CHINA INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY AND THE BORDER DISPUTE WITH CHINA by W. F. VAN EEKELEN Second revised edition Springer-Science+Business Media, B.V. 1967 ISBN 978-94-017-6436-0 ISBN 978-94-017-6555-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-6555-8 Copyright 1967 by Springer Science+ Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Martinus Nijho.IJ, The Hague, Netherlands in 1967. All rights reserved, including the right to translote or to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form INTRODUCTION The idea for a study of Indian foreign policy originated during a diplomatic posting to New Delhi between 1957 and 1960. These years were marked by the eruption of the Tib etan revolt, the arrival of the Dalai Lama and the first incidents along the Sino-Indian border. My departure coincided precisely with the landing of the aircraft carrying Premier Chou En-lai to the meeting with the Indian Prime Minister which would terminate the preliminary phase of the boundary dispute. The conflict subsequently assumed proportions affecting the entire position of India. It provided the most severe testing ground for Panchsheel, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence which Irrdia advocated as a new and Asian contribution to international relations. The object of this book is to trace the five principles from their optimistic start in an atmosphere of friendship with China to their decline as an instrument of practical politics. As Panchsheel experienced both its rise and fall in the bilateral context of Sino-Indian relations, these will be examined in considerable detail. Most emphasis is put on the border dispute which represented the first conflict between a commu nist power and a non-aligned state. The analysis of legal aspects and political motives in the dispute is preceded by a lengthy chronological description, which seemed necessary not only to complete the accounts given in other publications, but also as an illustration ofboth its climactic development and the gradual increase of Chinese pressure. A final chapter will draw conclusions on the impact of the crisis on Indian foreign policy to determine what it changed or left constant. This study could not have been completed without the stimulating advice and Supervision of Professor Dr. C. L. Patijn of the University of Utrecht. Among those who assisted me, I am particularly indebted to Mrs. E. Selby for checking my English and to Miss S. M. Thesen Ender for preparing the typescript. The staff of Chatham House, the library of Irrdia House and the Irrdia Office Library have greatly facilitated my research. VI INTRODUCTION In compiling these pages I have used no confidential information which may have come tomein my capacity ofmember ofthe Nether lands Foreign Service. The views setforthin this study are exclusively my own and do not express the opinion of the N etherlands Govern ment. London, August 1964. W. F. v. E. INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION The changes in this edition are limited to incorporating recent re search into the history of the Simla Convention of 1914 and British relations with Tibet. I have made use of Lamb's interesting study on the McMahon line in combination with further work of my own on the records of the India Office Library, which have become available to the public. Comments by Mr Hugh Richardson enabled me to clarify events during the period 1935-37. As a result I have made some modifications on pages 17 -20. A description of events since August 1964 is given in a postscript. It mentions the undeclared war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir in 1965 and its complication by a Chinese ultimatum. It also relates briefiy the disintegrating tendencies in the non-aligned and Afro-Asian camps. The remainder of the postscript is devoted to a further discussion ofthe Conference at Simla to the extent that I could add something to Lamb's extensive study. A selection of recent publications is added to the bibliography. Paris, January 1967. W. F.v. E. CONTENTS Introduction . . . . . . . . V Introduction to the second edition VI Abbreviations XI Maps 1. The northern frontier of lndia xn 2. Aksai Chin. xn 3. The Western Sector . XIII 4. The Eastern Sector . XIV I. The policy of non-alignment 1 The Indian case . 2 II. Sino-Indian relations prior to 1954. 8 Tibet 8 The conference at Simla 13 Indian nationalism and China. 20 Independent India 24 Communism in India 26 China invades Tibet . 29 The search for a new relationship 35 I II. Five principles of peaceful coexistence 38 IV. Panchsheel and Mro-Asian cooperation. 50 The Bandung conference . 56 V. India's position in international conflict. 64 Junagadh and Hyderabad 64 Kashmir. 65 Korea. 66 VIII CONTENTS Suez and Hungary 71 Goa. 72 Conclusions 77 VI. The border dispute with China 79 China probes the boundary. 79 Revolt in Tibet . 84 Reactions in parliament 85 Diplomatie notes 90 Challenge to the entire border. 92 Serious incidents 94 The Premiers meet (April1960) 97 The Officials report . 101 Chinese acquiescence? . 105 China's agreement with Burma 106 Deadlock 108 Expiration of the 1954 agreement 110 Further proposals . 111 The fighting starts . 114 The Colombo proposals 119 The question of prisoners . 127 China's agreements with other neighbours. 129 Nepal . 129 Pakistan . 130 Afghanistan and Outer Mongolia 132 VII. Legal aspects of the border dispute . 133 Thejuridical status ofTibet. 134 The Simla Convention . 139 The McMahon Line . 144 Mountain boundaries 145 The watershed principle 147 Maps and boundary disputes 149 Effective occupation . 153 Prescription 155 Protest, acquiescence and estoppel . 156 The critical date 157 Further application to the border dispute 158 The Western Sector . 160 The border with .Sinkiang. 160 CONTENTS IX Ladakh's border with Tibet. 164 The Eastern Sector 166 The Thagla Ridge. 170 VIII. Po1itica1 motives in the border dispute 171 China changes her evaluation of Irrdia 171 Marxist ideo1ogy 174 The Soviet Union and the border dispute . 179 The Communist Party of Irrdia 182 The Indian assessment of China's motives . 185 Conclusions 187 IX. Conclusions 193 The boundary question 193 The implications of the border dispute 197 Panchsheel . 200 Prospects. 205 Postscript . 208 Non-alignment 209 Suzerainty 210 The Simla Convention . 211 The Mc Mahon Line 214 Reviews 215 Bibliography. 217 _ Further bibliography . 226 Index 227 ABBREVIATIONS A.J .I.L. The American Journal oJ International Law B.Y.I.L. The British Tearbook of International Law G.A.O.R. United Nations General Assembly, Official Records I.C.J. International Court ofjustice I.C.L.Q. The Internationaland Comparative Law Q,uarter[y oJ I.Y.I.A. The Indian Tearbook International Affairs P. C.I.J. Permanent Court oflnternational J ustice oJ R. C.A.J. Journal the Royal Centrat Asia Society R.G.D.I.P. Revue Generale de Droit International Public oJ Y.B.W.A. The Tearbook World Affairs Indian report } Ministry of External Affairs (M.E.A.), New Delhi, oJ oJ Chinese report Report the o.fjicials of the governments India and the People' s Republic oJ China on the boundary question. (The Indian and Chinese reports are numbered separately) Press Release Issued by Chinese Charge d' Affaires, London White Paper M.E.A., notes, memoranda and letters exchar,ged between oJ the Governments India and China (A series of ten white papers) Sources which are not quoted in full in the footnotes are included in the bibliography.
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