“Early harvest is something which can be easily achieved. That is what it means. And if you look at the boundary issue, boundary question, there are three sectors that are involved with the Middle, Eastern and the Eestern sectors,” said Lt Gen SL Narasimhan (Retd) former defence attache in Beijing who also headed the External Affairs Ministry’s think tank Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies.
The middle sector is the easiest to resolve, Gen Narasimhan said. It runs around 600+ km from Ladakh to Nepal and includes parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The area has seen Chinese incursions particularly in Bara Hoti, but a deal is seen as feasible here although that could also take some years to negotiate.
In fact, maps of the Middle Sector were exchanged many years ago that laid down either country’s perception as to where the Line of Actual Control ran. But the Chinese stonewalled when it came to the other sectors and the issue remained dormant until suddenly revived now.
An expert group is now being set up, following Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit, and will go into the modalities of how to go about delimiting the area, which means identifying the area on the ground. The Chinese are however talking about demarcation, so clearly there is a gap between the two sides that has to be bridged.
“There seems to be an understanding that we must move on from what happened (Galwan clash) and bring back some semblance of normalcy in this relationship,” Narasimhan said, “If Mr. Modi is going to China and he has got a problem on the border … then it would be difficult to actually justify this (visit), so the Chinese must have relented.”
The interesting point about this understanding is the designation of three-star generals by both sides to drive the ground level process, since they are present in the location.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Lt Gen SL Narasimhan (Retd), former DG of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies
Thirty eight years in journalism, widely travelled, history buff with a preference for Old Monk Rum. Current interest/focus spans China, Technology and Trade. Recent reads: Steven Colls Directorate S and Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. Netflix/Prime video junkie. Loves animal videos on Facebook. Reluctant tweeter.
