Sikkim status: PM is bullish on Beijing

Wrapping up his five-day visit to China, the first by an Indian Prime minister in 10 years, Vajpayee rejected the implication that New Delhi had sold out to China on Tibet in exchange for accepting border trade at Nathu La and that he had not even pressed for an acknowledgement of Sikkim as being a part of India.

‘‘Whatever the goal we want to achieve, I believe it will be reached quickly,’’ he said. It is expected that Beijing will align its maps very soon in accordance with the reality on the ground that Sikkim has been a part of India since 1975. Analysts pointed out that New Delhi may not have pressed the Chinese too hard on this score, accepting that Beijing needed to save face and explain to their own people the steps they were taking.

The PM chose to underline the transformation in the Chinese mindset to squarely face all major disputes with India. ‘‘It will be a long road ahead,’’ he said, adding that discussions on all issues such as the contested border had taken place ‘‘as perhaps never before’’.

In fact, he added, there had not only been an exhaustive debate on the border but a road-map of solutions had also been outlined. A very significant step has been taken in bilateral relations, he added.

‘Seema ke baare mein is baar jaise pehle kabhi nahin baat hui hai. Keval behas hi nahin hui, uska hal karne ke raaste bhi dhoonde gaye hain. Ek mahatvapoorna kadam bhi uthaya gaya hai,’’ the Prime Minister said.

With the appointment of special representatives — Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and Chinese senior vice-minister Dai Bingguo — both sides have promised to take the border talks out of the control of their respective bureaucracies and impart to them a long-needed ‘‘political impetus’’.

Reliable sources indicated that the two sides would pursue ‘‘political parameters’’ which were quite outside cartographic issues involved in the delineation of the LAC. The sources were not willing to comment on whether this included the possible exchange of territory by both sides but said that the first meeting could take place as soon as a month from now.

Asked whether the decision to agree to the Chinese formula on accepting the Tibetan Autonomous Region as a part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) meant that New Delhi would now ask the Dalai Lama to leave the country, the Prime Minister rejected the idea. He pointed out that New Delhi had always been in touch with the Dalai Lama.

It is the border issue, left over from history, that has really been the major achievement of Vajpayee’s trip to China. Analysts here pointed to the talks that took place in 1979 between foreign minister Vajayee and then Premier Deng Xiaoping, when the latter referred to the possibility of settling the dispute by offering an exchange of territory between the eastern and western sectors.

At the time Vajpayee was said to have asked the Chinese to elaborate upon their ideas. But history intervened — China invaded Vietnam and Vajpayee cut short his trip.

The sources pointed to the ‘‘clear political will in Beijing’’ to resolve the ancient dispute. When the Indian delegation proposed that a Special Representative be appointed to push the process along, the Chinese side came back with a confirmation of assent by the same evening. The Indian side was pleasantly surprised at the speed of the response.

In fact, premier Wen even told the PM that he had discussed this idea both with President Hu Jintao and the Chairman of the Military Commission, Jiang Zemin. Both had responded warmly, a very clear indication that Beijing had taken a political decision to move the issue quickly along.