Hanoi, Oct. 29: India raised the issue of “stapled” visas as well its other core concern — China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh — when the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, met his Chinese counterpart, Mr Wen Jiabao, on the sidelines of the Asean-East Asia Summit in Hanoi on Friday.
India’s national security adviser, Mr Shivshankar Menon, said on Friday after the much-awaited 45-minute meeting between the two Prime Ministers was over: “The talks covered the entire range of difficult issues” — diplomatic code for India bringing up its two core issues with the Chinese leader.
Mr Menon said: “All issues were discussed and we have been directed to work our way towards finding solutions to these problems... The Prime Minister has said we needed to show sensitivity to each other’s core issues.”
But sources confirmed that “stapled visas were brought up, as well as China’s presence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” but given the short time at hand, talks could not be held at length.
Clearly, the announcement by the Chinese Premier, Mr Jiabao, when he met Dr Singh in Hanoi that he will visit India by the end of this year, possibly by December 16, opens up the scope for a full-fledged dialogue on all the core issues that bedevil Sino-Indian relations, particularly China’s calculated policy shift on Kashmir, its issuance of stapled visas, construction activity in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and its claims over the state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China describes as a part of Tibet.
China remains concerned over India’s Dalai Lama card, and has taken a tougher line on the Tibetan leader despite India’s efforts to see it does not upset Beijing.