Page 1 of 12

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 11

December 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 55

India-China Relations during UPA Government

Zahoor Ahmad Malik

Research Scholar

E-mail:- rajazahoor786.s@gmail.com

Abstract

India and China are the two great giants

of Asia. Being the most populous countries

they are also two of the most ancient

civilisations of the world. Indo-China

relations, admitting occasionally assuming

a sign of the accord and cooperation has

generally been afflicted by abstraction and

mistrust. With the possibility to make

enormous commitments to provincial

peace and advancement, these two Asian

forces have, by outline or mischance,

themselves, been the wellsprings of local

strain and shakiness to some degree.

Besides their centralized dynamics, the co- action of interests and moves of their

neighbours, and several alien admirals

would accept cogent address on the

blueprint and relations amid them. The

UPA Government has taken important

initiatives in the field of foreign policy.

The UPA Government has accorded

primary attention to relations with China

and has conducted substantive interactions

with China. The UPA Government has

attempted to accelerate the dialogue and

engagement with China, which is currently

one of the better trading ally of India. This

paper analyses the bilateral conflict

between India and China during UPA

Government and the subsequent

emergence of the global threats. The paper

also emphasizes of the bilateral relations

as the key prerequisite to ensure peace and

security for the region and also for

relieving the global society from the perils

of a growing nuclear threat and the future

directions of their relationship.

Keywords: Boundary dispute, India,

China, High level visits, Economic

cooperation and Defence,

Introduction

For centuries, the two ancient

civilizations, India and China have shared

regular thoughts, religion and

philosophical ethos. Majorly because of its

colonial legacy and partly due to the post- colonial geopolitics, the two giant

neighbours have, however, started to

experience contact in their respective

relationship on issues falling in the domain

of boundary and the alternate antagonism

for administration in the sub-continent.

The issue arose between the two since the

colonial period and endured a mishap

because of post-colonial political and

boundary disputes. Today, these two

nations have risen as leading technological

and economic powers. In fact,

contemporary international politics cannot

avoid the significance of the nature and

Page 2 of 12

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 11

December 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 56

direction of India and China relations

while considering about the issue of peace

and security in the larger global domain.

The UPA government in India under the

leadership of Manmohan Singh had

focused on adding to a long haul

constructive and cooperative partnership

with China on the basis of the principles of

Panchsheel, mutual respect and sensitivity

for each other’s concerns and equality. The

UPA government’s policy towards China

is not only conducive to their socio- economic development and prosperity, but

also to strengthening multi-polarity in the

world and enhancing the positive factors

of globalisation.

Historical Overview

India and China have interacted

with one another for thousands of years,

especially in the areas of trade and

religion. For centuries, however, the scope

of their interaction was limited by the

barrier of the Himalayan Mountains. When

each country established a new

government, India in 1947 and China in

1949, the relationship began to shift and

the two countries established formal

diplomatic relations in 1950.1

India not

only just supported for China’s

membership in the United Nations, but

also opposed attempts to condemn the

China for its actions in Korea. Yet the

issue of Tibet soon emerged as a major

point of contention between China and

India.2

India and China signed the famed

Panchsheel Agreement in 1954 that

underlined the five principles of peaceful

coexistence as the basis of their bilateral

relationship.3 This was the heyday of Sino- Indian ties, with the phrase Hindi-Chini

Bhai-Bhai (Indians and Chinese are

brothers) being a favourite slogan for the

seeming camaraderie between the two

states.4 But that camaraderie did not last

long, soon the border dispute between

India and China escalated, leading to the

1962 Sino- Indian War. The war would

have a long-lasting impact on Sino-Indian

ties. The war also led China to develop

close ties with India’s neighbouring

adversary, Pakistan, resulting in what is

now widely considered an all-weather

friendship. China supported Pakistan in its

1965 and 1971 wars with India and helped

Islamabad in the development of its

nuclear weapons arsenal. The border issue

keeps on being a noteworthy deterrent in

Sino-Indian ties, with minor clashes at the

border happening following 1962. As

China and the United States grew closer

after their rapprochement in 1972, India

gravitated towards the Soviet Union to

balance the Sino-U.S.-Pakistan axis.5

Following the conflict, formal diplomatic

Page 3 of 12

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 11

December 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 57

relations between India and China were

downgraded and a bilateral relation was

suspended, the two countries did not re- establish diplomatic ties until 1976.

Although the two nations restored

ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations in

1976 and in 1981 agreed to begin talks on

the border issue.6

In 1988 during Rajiv

Gandhi’s trip to China, Indian government

acknowledged this recommendation and

formally started the procedure of

normalizing respective relations. Since

then, a variety of high-level visits in the

1990s and 2000s helped to improve

relations. In 2003, each country appointed

special envoys in hopes of finally

negotiating an end to the border dispute.7

Boundary Dispute

In 1954, the Nehru Government

acquiesced in China’s occupation of Tibet,

but failed to get China’s recognition of the

McMahon Line as the border between the

two countries in the east. The Panchsheel

Agreement marked in that year was

disregarded by China inside of a couple of

years. Arunachal Pradesh is an Indian

state, both general and local elections are

regularly held in that state, but China

claims the whole of the state as its own,

though no political party or group in the

state has expressed support for China’s

demand.8 The agreement on the

Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity

along the Line of Actual Control in India- China Border Areas concluded on

September 7, 1993 and the agreement on

Confidence-building Measures in the

Military Relations, concluded on

November 29, 1996 were positive and

peace inspiring. It was legitimate to trust

that these two steps would make ready for

critical grounding of troops and

considerable reduction in, if not end of the

war-production endeavours of the two

nations along the Line of Actual Control

(LAC). But this has not happened, on the

contrary, they continue to build their

military capabilities along the LAC,

particularly in the eastern sector covering

Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh and in north- eastern Ladakh. Border incursions and

border tensions have not stopped. India’s

border tension with China is only a

symptom of the larger problem in the

India-China equation.9 Despite the talks

since 1981, the big push by successive

Prime Ministers, Rajiv Gandhi during his

visit in 1988, Atal Bihari Vajpayee during

his visit in 2003, Manmohan Singh in his

talks with Premier Wen Jiabao in 2005 and

President Hu Jintao in 2006, Manmohan

Singh’s visit in January 2008 and various

other channels like the Special

Representatives talks, there has hardly