China’s retired top negotiator has sparked speculations about a possible solution to the restive situation in India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh. Keen on acquiring the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh, especially Tawang, China is willing to concede a part of the disputed Aksai Chin.

Despite Indian diplomats denying this exchange as neither practical nor possible, it evidently throws a light on how China wants to assimilate the Tawang region as a part of China. Dai Bingguo, China’s boundary negotiator who is well-respected in Beijing, said the Britishers accepted Tawang as a part of Tibet.

“The disputed territory in the eastern sector of the China-India boundary, including Tawang, is inalienable from China’s Tibet in terms of cultural background and administrative jurisdiction,” he said.

The border dispute between the two neighbouring countries consists largely on the fact that India sees China as occupying 38,000 sq km of its territory in Aksai Chin while China claims that India occupies 90,000 sq km in Arunachal Pradesh.

Despite China’s insistence, it is unlikely that India will make any concessions in the territory it holds in Arunachal Pradesh. A concession of disputed land to China would spell for other territorial demands from neighbouring countries on top of India’s apprehension about China’s ambition in the north-eastern parts of India.

The Tawang Monastery is especially important for Tibetan Buddhists as it is the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama.

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