21 June 2008
Chinese consul says Sikkim part of India but border lacks demarcation
(TOI) The newly appointed Chinese consul general in Kolkata, Mao Siwei, has confirmed that Beijing recognises Sikkim as part of India, but also stipulated that the border dispute between India and China is unlikely to be settled soon. During former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to Beijing, "the Chinese side had recognized Sikkim as a state of the Indian Union", Mao said at a meeting of the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce. At the same time, he mentioned "uneasy problems which will take time to resolve", presumably referring to the Sino-Indian border as a whole, which includes Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh where the two sides had conflicting claims. According to Mao, the Sikkim-Tibet border had been settled in 1890 after Sikkim was brought under British protection. He also said the border had been demarcated only on paper at that time, and no demarcation on the ground had taken place. He agreed that disputes should not continue "when at times it is a matter of a kilometre or so" but became evasive when asked if a a joint survey should be employed to formalise the border demarcation on the ground.