What on earth is a “disclosure agreement”*?
While everyone from Shekhar Gupta to the PM (“Media blowing things out of proportion“) and most recently the Army chief, caution us not to get worried about China or get into the 1962 mindset (whatever that means) or not read too much into the incursions (because they are after all only a matter of perception), here comes this bit of news (Hat Tip: Sanjay) which appears to have received little media attention.
From “China strikes back on Arunachal“:
…Last month, in a development New Delhi has been quiet about, China won a vote on a “disclosure agreement,†which prevents ADB from formally acknowledging Arunachal Pradesh as part of India.
…India lost the vote despite US and most of the Western bloc voting in India’s favour. In what was relatively a narrow margin, the scales were tilted in China’s favour by Japan, Australia and a group of other South East Asian countries.
…The defeat has caused considerable concern in official circles here.
But wait, there is more.
.
While this report (Aug 24) suggests that:
India has rejected a loan from the Asian Development Bank of US$60 million for infrastructure project developments in Arunachal Pradesh state as China insisted on clauses within the loan agreement preventing ADB members from recognizing the state as being Indian territory.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has now been quoted as saying:
…there was no pending issue and that the loan has been approved.
So has India rejected a loan that has been approved? Has the government rejected the whole loan or just the part pertaining to Arunachal Pradesh?
Meanwhile, one set of government sources blithely maintain that “disclosure” notification filed by China in the ADB on Arunachal Pradesh would have no impact on the project, or the funding”, others confirm “that there is no mention of disclosure agreement”
Truly, MerA BhArat MahAan!
Related Posts:
India, China and Arunachal Pradesh…are we missing something?
Arunachal: Sleepwalking into a disaster
Getting obsessive about Arunachal
* P.S. According to this news-item, a “disclosure agreement” is a formal notification of a project once it’s approved by the ADB Board. The vote secured by China apparently means that ADB will not formally acknowledge the project in Arunachal Pradesh which can be interpreted to mean that ADB does not formally recognise Arunachal Pradesh as part of India.
This may explain why the government might have rejected the Arunachal Pradesh part of the loan. But this – at best – is damage control. We seem to have been caught on the wrong foot. In the meantime, I am trying to get hold of more details on this.
There is one thing all of us could do to give a fitting reply to the Chinese menace. Stop buying goods manufactured in China and by the companies.
Could someone please point me to any initiatives that has been taken in this regard. This is also an opportunity for Indian enterprises to encroach on business space China presently occupies.
Good point…Hit ’em where it hurts…
Except most goods made in China are made by other (non-Chinese) companies.
In any case, I am not rushing to buy a Lenovo anytime soon 🙂
There is one thing all of us could do to give a fitting reply to the Chinese menace. Stop buying goods manufactured in China and by the companies.
Might make some people very unhappy:
…The area–Changthang is located south east of Ladakh and has been a haven for smugglers who carry essential commodities like rice, wheat, vegetables having longer shelf-life, cigarettes and bidi and cooking oil.
And in return, the Indian smugglers flood the market with Pashmina shawls, Chinese crockery, toys, electronic items and blankets, say civil and military officials in Ladakh area.
…Though the Indo-Tibetan border police and Army have been trying to clamp down on these smugglers, but they also admit that it is difficult to curb it because of hundreds of mountain passes which are difficult to man.
Some of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also alleged that a tightened crackdown always saw political intervention by Ladakhis who have been asking the security personnel to allow this trade to carry on as it was a mainstay for many people.
Recently, the Customs set up a check post at Nyoma and initiated a crackdown on the traders carrying the smuggling racket but not much has been achieved. Changthang is a high-altitude plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into south eastern Ladakh, with vast highlands and giant lakes.
Just do likewise with Tibet. Tibet is clearly a disputed region. India is the biggest local supporter saying yes to China in the matter of Tibet.
Are ADB loans used for projects in Tibet ?
The problem is not that, really. It is just lack of spine in our leadership.
Especially if the comments by one “krishna” on this expressbuzz news story are true. I wish somebody with access to information would verify those comments.
A: I had a quick look….Most of the comments are hearsay and rumours; None of them are supported by detailed links and references. Some are clearly wrong and can land the commentator in a libel case.
Separately, I doubt that ADB loans are used for projects in Tibet – to the best of my knowledge almost all the “development” in Tibet has been done by China on its own.
and finally: The problem is not that, really. It is just lack of spine in our leadership
I cannot agree more.
Curiously, no comment in MSM on Google Earth showing Arunachal Pradesh as disputed…(Hat tip: Vikram Chandra)
@Shantanu
I agree that some trade is inevitable. I am concerned at the price at which it is being conducted and for whose benefit. If the trade creates indebtedness to the Ladakh people that would be one thing, if it created a surplus in their favour perhaps another.
What has been evident is that Chinese manufactures making it to India have been wiping out whole swathes of Indian industry. The smuggling activity is being carried out at the cost of Indian manufactures without the imposition of duties to which they should be liable.
The area of China that Ladakh is trading with cannot be viable economically just as is with Ladakh. It should not be the job of the Indian government to strengthen the hands of China by encouraging economic activity where it is better suppressed.
The Indian government needs to encourage other industries such as tourism in Ladakh.