PM's China-Russia sojourn - hits & misses
Progress on border, trade and water issues, but visas & nuclear cooperation remain sore points
 "PM's China-Russia sojourn - hits & misses")
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has returned from his 5 day tour of Russia and China, a “reasonably satisfied” man. The PM held wide ranging talks with India’s two other BRICS partners on a host of strategic and economic issues, inking a variety of agreements, MOUs and a landmark border pact with China that many believe is a significant foreign policy achievement for Singh. There were certain issues on the agenda, albeit, that remained unresolved.
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Here are the big hits and big misses of Singh’s China-Russia sojourn:
*HITS*
1) BORDER:
Border Defence Cooperation Agreement – a comprehensive border pact to ensure peace and avoid tensions on the 4000 KM LAC (Line of Actual Control). The agreement adds to 4 earlier agreements signed over 3 decades by formalizing a 5 layer mechanism for communication between the two sides. It also agrees to the 2 sides not tailing patrols of the other side in “areas where there is no common understanding of the line of actual control in the India-China border areas” and seeks to implement the agreement through real-time communications, a hotline between two military headquarters etc. This assumes significance in the light of Chinese incursions in Ladakh earlier this year.
Border Defence Cooperation Agreement – a comprehensive border pact to ensure peace and avoid tensions on the 4000 KM LAC (Line of Actual Control). The agreement adds to 4 earlier agreements signed over 3 decades by formalizing a 5 layer mechanism for communication between the two sides. It also agrees to the 2 sides not tailing patrols of the other side in “areas where there is no common understanding of the line of actual control in the India-China border areas” and seeks to implement the agreement through real-time communications, a hotline between two military headquarters etc. This assumes significance in the light of Chinese incursions in Ladakh earlier this year.
2) WATER:
Agreement between China and India’s ministries for water resources to provide India with hydrological information on flows in the Brahmaputra from May 15 to October 15. So far, data have been provided from June 1 to October 15 each year. This is expected to help India better manage monsoon floods and give insights into China’s dam building activities. Reports suggest that China has allayed India’s long standing concerns over Beijing using strategically positioned dams to regulate the water flow of the Brahmaputra.
Agreement between China and India’s ministries for water resources to provide India with hydrological information on flows in the Brahmaputra from May 15 to October 15. So far, data have been provided from June 1 to October 15 each year. This is expected to help India better manage monsoon floods and give insights into China’s dam building activities. Reports suggest that China has allayed India’s long standing concerns over Beijing using strategically positioned dams to regulate the water flow of the Brahmaputra.
3) TRADE:
Recognition of active steps needed to be taken to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion and narrow the unsustainable trade balance through various measures like establishment of industrial zones for Chinese investments, spruced up efforts on a bilateral Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) and fresh MOUs in sectors such as power, roads, education etc. India’s trade deficit with China is at $39 billion last year, the biggest gap with any of its trading partners.
Recognition of active steps needed to be taken to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion and narrow the unsustainable trade balance through various measures like establishment of industrial zones for Chinese investments, spruced up efforts on a bilateral Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) and fresh MOUs in sectors such as power, roads, education etc. India’s trade deficit with China is at $39 billion last year, the biggest gap with any of its trading partners.
*MISSES*
1) VISAS:
No pact on a liberalized visa regime in the wake of the stapled visas issued by the Chinese Embassy to Indian archers from Arunachal Pradesh. While India registered its protest over the issue, Beijing refused to back off from its stand on stapled visas leading India to slow it down on a proposal to simply visa procedures to facilitate easier travel for Chinese nationals to India and vice versa.
No pact on a liberalized visa regime in the wake of the stapled visas issued by the Chinese Embassy to Indian archers from Arunachal Pradesh. While India registered its protest over the issue, Beijing refused to back off from its stand on stapled visas leading India to slow it down on a proposal to simply visa procedures to facilitate easier travel for Chinese nationals to India and vice versa.
2) NUCLEAR COOPERATION:
In Moscow, India and Russia failed to strike a long delayed nuclear deal for two additional reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Russia backed out of a potential deal over concerns regarding India’s nuclear liability law that holds suppliers liable for damages in the event of an accident; an issue that’s also put the operationalization of Indo-US nuclear deal into a limbo.
In Moscow, India and Russia failed to strike a long delayed nuclear deal for two additional reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Russia backed out of a potential deal over concerns regarding India’s nuclear liability law that holds suppliers liable for damages in the event of an accident; an issue that’s also put the operationalization of Indo-US nuclear deal into a limbo.