During Premier Wen Jiabao's visit Chinese ambassador Sun Yuxi, talking about Sino-Indian cooperation, said: "If we can speak in one voice, it will be the strongest in the world." Absolutely. But whose throat will that one voice emanate from? China has expanded economic ties with Pakistan. It heightened its defence ties by planning joint production of Chinese fighter jets in Pakistan. At the same time, China has initiated substantially expanded trade ties with India.
During the Musharraf visit, PM Manmohan Singh, in the context of Kashmir, repeatedly said no borders could be redrawn. What does he mean? Is it that India cannot compromise with its official stand that all of Kashmir belongs to India? That Pakistan-occupied Kashmir must come back to India? Or does the PM mean that the LoC cannot be altered and must now become the international border? If the latter, it is a major concession at the legal negotiating level with no visible advantage in return. Does the Indian government have any clear goal on Indo-Pak relations? It seems to be hazy about the destination but clear about the roadmap to follow!
President Musharraf, on the other hand, appears to be clear about his final goal but is flexible about the roadmap to follow. India is ecstatic about Musharraf reversing his stand. Musharraf has now agreed to expand economic ties and CBMs even while the final Kashmir solution remains pending. This is a 180-degree turnaround. Our foreign policy experts should note that Musharraf reversed his stand only after China successfully entered South Asia via trade with India and trade and defence ties with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
On Kashmir specifically, Musharraf told the Indian editors that, first, the LoC cannot be the permanent border; secondly, echoing Manmohan Singh, that no boundaries can be redrawn; and thirdly, that both leaders agreed boundaries will become irrelevant when peace is achieved. He asked editors to discover a solution within these parameters.
Logically, only one solution suggests itself. That is, Kashmir with soft borders will be jointly controlled by India and Pakistan. But by China too. Don't forget that Pakistan violated the UN resolution and illegally ceded part of Kashmir to China while America benignly looked on. But after our own government welcomed China into South Asian affairs, why should Indians worry?
Or should they?
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)
