Smelling the Tokyo rose

The first reciprocal stirrings within Japan8217;s establishment will manifest themselves over the next few weeks. A key element is Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal8217;s likely visit to Tokyo by end-October. Director Yanagisawa of Japan8217;s National Institute for Defence Studies, the think-tank formally linked to the Self Defence Forces, will visit India this week, while the Japanese Defence Secretary attends a meeting of all Japanese defence attaches in early November.

Still, the bureaucratic awakening hardly reduces the 8216;8216;Where is India?8217;8217; lassitude that still prevails in Japanese political circles. An early visit by Japan8217;s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who did not meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the margins of the Asean summit in Bali last week, could do much to sweep away the cobwebs.

Sikkim and the muddle kingdom

Chinese spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue has a great haircut on the Net fmprc.gov.cn, but her answer to a question on the status of Sikkim on October 9 8212; after the meeting between Vajpayee and Wen Jiabao in Bali 8212; was perfectly in line with the ambiguity Chinese mandarins have had such practice with. 8216;8216;It is a question left over from history. We think we should respect history and take into consideration practical factors on this question. We hope that it will be gradually solved with the development of relations between China and India,8217;8217; Zhang said.

Maybe she should hit the search engine for 8216;8216;Sikkim8217;8217;, on the same website. An item dated August 25 still says, 8216;8216;The Chinese government does not recognise India8217;s illegal annexation of Sikkim.8217;8217; Technological glitch or retro-tease? Perhaps Beijing is still sorting out its decades-old anomalies, and taking its time to do so. The first step in respecting history, to remove the listing of Sikkim as a separate country, took place on China8217;s October 1 national holiday. Next in line are the amendment of the almanac and, ultimately, a reconfiguration of China8217;s maps.

Attending to the minnows

Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha flies off to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, October 14, to attend the joint commission expected to wrap up the special economic partnership with Colombo, and have it ready by the time Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickeramasinghe arrives here next week. Meanwhile, India8217;s Africa policy gets a boost with the visit of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade.

Towards the end of the week, India and Oman will meet for their first official-level strategic dialogue. With the Gulf as a key maritime neighbour, Sinha8217;s meeting with the GCC countries on the margins of the United Nations summit in New York was the first step in New Delhi8217;s revitalised 8216;8216;Look West8217;8217; policy.

Too Young to say goodbye

The British are so much more fun these days. Or at least out of the ordinary. Outgoing British High Commissioner Rob Young, who revitalised the Indo-UK relationship over the past four years not least with his very understated humour, left on the weekend after a record-of-sorts farewell party. It lasted a bumper six hours. You were to say when you could come so as to stagger the tea-and-biscuits from 3-6 pm, the drinks from 6-9 pm.

Sir Rob, quite a hit on Delhi8217;s diplomatic circuit, is being succeeded by Michael Arthur, said to be an Indophile himself. A deputy undersecretary in economic affairs in London, one of the new high commissioner8217;s first assignments will be to look after Prince Charles on his tour of the country later this month. Turns out Charles will also have some fun. He attends the shooting of a British-Bollywood masala film.