Agreement on Military Confidence Building Measures, 1996

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Agreement on Military Confidence Building Measures, 1996
Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the People's Republic of China on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas
TypeStandstill agreement
Border management
Confidence building measures
Context India China boundary question
Signed29 November 1996
LocationNew Delhi, India
Condition Ratification by China and India
Parties
  • Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
  • Flag of India.svg India
Languages

The Agreement on Military Confidence Building Measures (formally the Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the People's Republic of China on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas) followed the 1993 border agreement. The Instruments of Ratification were exchanged during the tenth meeting of JWG in August 1997. [1]

Contents

Background

Following the 1993 agreement, formal interaction between the two countries continued. In the military sphere, an officer exchange program and high level visits took place. Vice Chief of China's People's Liberation Army and the Chinese Defence Minister visited India while India's Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Naval Staff visited China. [2]

Agreement

The agreement was signed in New Delhi during a state visit by the President of China. This was the first visit of a Chinese President to India. [3] The agreement opened with a mention of the five principles of peaceful coexistence as well as the 1993 agreement. [4] The twelve articles make it understood that the agreement is a no war agreement, that the ultimate solution to the boundary question remains and that the LAC shall be respected. It states that military deployment shall be limited and details on how to deal with military exercises, air intrusions, overflights and landings by military aircraft near the LAC. It aims to prevent "dangerous military activities" near LAC, covers CBMs such as "flag meetings and telecommunications" and deals with the accidental crossing of the LAC. It reiterates that clarification can be sought with regard to the agreement and LAC and issues of ratification. The agreement recognizes that there are differing perceptions in certain areas along the LAC. [2] [4]

Exchange of maps

Article 10 of the agreement mentioned the exchange of maps between the two countries. Initially there had been some progress with the exchange of maps. India and China exchanged maps of the Barahoti sector during the latter part of 2000. In June 2001 the Indian and Chinese sides had the first in-depth discussion on the LAC in the central sector. [5] Maps of Sikkim were also exchanged. [6] This resulted in the "Memorandum on Expanding Border Trade". [6] [7] However, as maps of other sectors were exchanged, especially the western sector, [8] [9] [10] perceptions vastly differed to a point where the process stopped around 2002/2003. [11] [12] In July 2020 the Chinese ambassador to India said that Beijing isn't interested in continuing with the exchange of maps process which had stopped in 2002. [13] A drawback of the process of exchanging maps was that it gave an "incentive to exaggerate their claims of where the LAC lay". [14]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "1996 Pact on CBMs". Hindustan Times. PTI. 18 June 2003. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  2. 1 2 Singh, Swaran. "Sino-Indian CBMs: Problems and Prospects". idsa-india.org. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  3. ↑ "Suo moto statement by External Affairs Minister in both Houses of Parliament on 5 December, 1996 on the visit of the President of the People's Republic of China to India" (PDF). Archive of the Press Information Bureau, Government of Indi. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-08. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  4. 1 2 Kumar, Gaurav (July–September 2020). "India-China Border Agreements". United Service Institution of India. Archived from the original on 2021-06-20. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  5. ↑ Dixit, J. N. (17 July 2001). "Talks Know No Boundaries". The Telegraph (India). Archived from the original on 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  6. 1 2 Pandey, Utkarsh (16 December 2020). "The India-China Border Question: An Analysis of International Law and State Practices". ORF. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  7. ↑ "Documents signed between India and China during Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to China (June 23, 2003)". mea.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  8. ↑ "India, China exchange maps to resolve border dispute". The Times of India. PTI. 29 November 2002. Archived from the original on 2020-12-23. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  9. ↑ Joshi, Manoj (31 March 2002). "India, China agree to exchange border maps". The Times of India. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  10. ↑ "India, China exchange sample maps of LAC". The Times of India. PTI. 26 November 2002. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  11. ↑ Joshi, Manoj (8 June 2020). "Indo-China row signals breakdown of confidence building measures". ORF. Archived from the original on 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  12. ↑ "Official Spokesperson's response to queries on the recent media report quoting a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement regarding China's position on the LAC (September 29, 2020)". mea.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-02-27. ...the two sides had engaged in an exercise to clarify and confirm the LAC up to 2003, but this process could not proceed further as the Chinese side did not show a willingness to pursue it....
  13. ↑ "Call From Indian Quarters Urging Change in India's China Policy Worrisome, Says Chinese Envoy". The Wire. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  14. ↑ Menon 2016, p. 21 (ebook).

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