Recently, China created a storm by objecting Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. Dalai Lama visited Tawang a border town which China claim as part of its TAR ( Tibet Autonomous Region).

South Africa refused VISA to Dalai Lama in March 2009 where Dalai Lama was to take part in international peace conference. Though South Africa gave reason for the refusal as it did not want to divert attention of peace conference to Tiebt issue, but the real reason was not beyond anyone’s comprehension.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) — South Africa has refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend an international peace conference in Johannesburg this week, a presidential spokesman said. The Dalai Lama fled China in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Laureate did not receive a visa because it was not in South Africa’s interest for him to attend, said Thabo Masebe. Source.

In July 2009, UN Rights Chief refused to receive Dalai Lama in Geneva in his visit. Many view this as pressure from China.

United Nations rights chief Navi Pillay to answer whether she will receive the Dalai Lama on his visit to Geneva next week — understood as a negative answer — but welcomed her criticism of China’s “serious systemic violations of human rights” in Tibet, and her call for due process for detainees and access to international observers. Source.
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Technorati Tags: Arunachal Pradesh, Border dispute, china, Dalai Lama, Dalai Lama Tawang Visit, Free Tibet, India, India's Tibet Card, Tawang, Tibet

On 13th October 2009, assembly election was held successfully in Zangnan or Arunachal Pradesh with 72% voter turnout for electing its state government. China has chosen this day to lodge a protest against India for a visit by Indian PM Dr. Manmohan Singh to Zangnan or Arunachal Pradesh. India, as usual, has rebutted the protest and claimed that Arunachal is an integral part of India. Every Indian media is shouting at top of their voice that the voter turn out of 72% proves that the people from Arunachal Pradesh or Zangnan are overwhelmingly with India, not China!
Many do not fail to mention that 40% of the polling booths are reachable only by trekking for 3 days on foot after 62 years of India’s independence. This is in contrast with Tibet where Indians media claim, China has built modern roads everywhere.

PTI news about high voter turn out in Arunachal Pradesh :

Itanagar, Oct 13 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh recorded a high turnout of 72 per cent in the election to 57 of the 60 seats in the state assembly today. Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and two other Congress candidates have been elected unopposed from the three seats in Tawang district.
“Around 72 per cent turnout was recorded, but it may go up,” Chief Electoral Officer Yeshi Tsering said.
The percentage in the 2004 assembly elections was 67.83. There were reports of disturbances and damage to EVMs from 23 polling stations in nine constituencies, he said.

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Technorati Tags: 1962, Arunachal Pradesh, china, Congress, current affairs, India, Indo-China war, Manmohan Singh, MP, Tibet, Zang Nan, zangnan

News about border incursion by Chinese troops has become a routine in Indian media, TV, discussion, online forums recently. There are three news articles about Indo-China conflict in Times Of India, one of the largest circulated English News Paper in India.

Various Indian television news channels are airing news as well as news analysis about recent developments in India and China relations. A prominent news has been Indian Government support for visit of Dalai Lama to Tawang, world’s second largest Buddhist pilgrimage place, second only to Tibet. Last year, Indian government refused to allow Dalai Lama visit to Tawang, but this year amid growing distrust between India and China, Indian government allowed to visit him. This is seen as pro-active diplomacy by Indian government by many intellectuals. Arunachal Pradesh is area which is claimed by China, mainly due to Tawang.

Various western pundits are also opining that China recent tough posturing against India is due to its growing nervousness about growing India economically and militarily.

NEW DELHI: A US think-tank has said that China’s recent aggression on Indian border is direct result of Beijing’s “nervousness over India’s rise.”
“Well, I think China is becoming increasingly nervous about India’s rise. It’s something that they have to deal with that perhaps 10-15 years ago they didn’t believe was something that was necessary to focus on.
We saw this when they to tried scuttle at the last minute, the civil nuclear deal at the Nuclear Supplier Group meeting last year and so that was sort of an indication that China is not completely comfortable with India’s rise on the world stage,” said Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation, US. Source.

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Technorati Tags: 1962 border skirmish, Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh, china, Dalai Lama, India, Indo-China war, Tawang, war

Recent developments at various places see India and China coming face to face as adversaries. Many incidences have taken place in last few months which portray these two big Asian countries with world’s largest population with mutual distrust and antagonism.

The few incidences I can remember are:

1. Chinese products banned in India

India banned Chinese dairy products in September, 2008 allegedly contaminated with deadly whitener. Few other countries in Asia and Africa too banned Chinese diary products including Singapore, Australia. India also banned Chinese Mobile and toys. Recently, when India imposes ban on dairy products again as the ban was coming to a end on 24th June 2009, China protested against it. The ban was lifted by Singapore and few other countries after Chinese products passed laboratory tests.

India also banned toys imported from China as well as mobile phones. And recently China threatened tit for tat to Indian products.

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Technorati Tags: 1962 war, ADB, Arunachal Pradesh, china, dairy product, Dalai Lama, India, indo-china, lab, LTTE, Myanmar, Pakistan, sri lanka, Sukhoi, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Tibet, Tibet war, toy, USA, war, war of words, World Affairs, world war