Make substantial adjustments to settle border row: China

India must make 'substantial adjustment' in the eastern sector to solve the border issue with China, its former envoy said.

India must make 8220;substantial adjustment8221; in the eastern sector, including returning the Buddhist enclave Tawang to China, to reach an early settlement of the border issue under the principle of give and take, former Chinese Ambassador to New Delhi, Zhou Gang, said.

8220;As the Chinese people will never accept 8216;McMahon line,8217; India must make substantial adjustment in the East sector,8221; he said in Beijing as boundary negotiations are expected to gather momentum in the weeks ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh8217;s visit, which is now put off until January, 2008.

8220;On China-India boundary issue, my view is that China has always taken a positive approach, hoping a settlement acceptable to both sides will be reached through talks at an early date,8221; Zhou, now a Special Consultant to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said.

Interestingly, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, during their meeting in northeast Chinese city of Harbin last week, had discussed the vexed boundary issue with the latter coming out with the first public statement that the two sides must make 8220;mutual concessions and adjustments8221; for the settlement of the issue.

China would make joint efforts with India under relevant political guiding principles and hoped the two countries could understand each other, make mutual concessions and adjustments so as to strive for an early agreement on a framework which would be fair, rational and acceptable for both sides on resolving bilateral border issue, Yang was quoted as telling Mukherjee by the official Xinhua news agency.

Yang had said that China would firmly support the Chinese and Indian special representatives8217; work on resolving bilateral border issue, who have so far held 11 rounds of negotiations.

He had said that thanks to the concerted efforts by both sides, bilateral ties have maintained healthy development.

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Other Chinese scholars say that India must start 8220;educating8221; its people that the boundary question can only be settled under the principle of 8220;give and take8221; and not on the basis of the 1962 Indian Parliament resolution.

Mukherjee had announced in Harbin that India and China have established a Working Group to prepare a framework for the settlement of their boundary issue.

He had said the 11th round of talks between the Special Representatives of India and China held in Beijing was successful and they have decided to set up a Working Group to prepare a framework for the resolution of the boundary issue.

8220;Let us wait for the recommendations of the Working Group,8221; Mukherjee, who was in Harbin to attend the third standalone trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of India, China and Russia, had said.

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He emphasised that the foremost thing is to abide by the principles of mutual understanding, mutual accommodation and mutual adjustment so as to obtain a final package settlement.

8220;I cited the following example that during my tenure as Chinese ambassador to India, I made it clear on many occasions to the Indian public 8212; Tawang belongs to China, it is the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama and the Dalai Lama is 8216;China8217;s Dalai Lama8217;, who cannot be 8216;India8217;s Dalai Lama8217;.8221;

8220;I think if the Indian side can make substantial adjustment in the East sector according to the principles of mutual understanding, mutual accommodation and mutual adjustment, the Chinese side will make its adjustment in the Western sector accordingly,8221; Zhou, also a Senior Adviser to China Institute for International Strategic Studies, emphasised.