China dedicated to good relations with India, despite military budget rise: spokesman

NCP spokesman Li Zhaoxing

The Chinese government is dedicated to maintaining good relations with India, despite increasing its defence budget by over 12 per cent, a top official from the Chinese parliament said on Friday 4th March.

The comments came a day before the start of the National People's Congress's (NPC) annual session, which seems likely to approve a 12.7 per cent increase in the country's defence budget, a move which has caused concern among some of China's neighbours.

Responding to questions about whether China's defence budget increase would put pressure on its neighbours, such as India, Li Zhaoxing, chairman of the NPC's Foreign Affairs Committee said that China and India have reached a consensus on maintaining the peace and tranquillity of their border areas until the border issues are solved.

Mr Li added that the increase will result in a military budget of 601 billion yuan (US$91.5 billion), which only amounts to 1.4 per cent of GDP. India's defence budget is also set to rise considerably this year, up 11.6 per cent to US$35 billion. As Mr Li pointed out, the Indian budget is higher as a proportion of GDP than China's. The US has a military budget of $725 billion.

Mr Li also said that China wanted to move forward with talks with India. “We seek to advance the negotiations … process on a settlement framework, so as to resolve the boundary question which has been created and left over by history,”

“At present, there are friendly and stable relations between China and India. This has created a good atmosphere for the two sides to resolve the boundary question through consultations,” he said.

Li said China and India had held 14 rounds of meetings since 2003 in an effort to speed up negotiations for an early solution to border issues.

"China attaches great importance to friendly relations with neighbors. ... Seeking peace, cooperation and development is a shared view of all Asian people, including the people of China and India," he said.

The Chinese government said on Friday that it was ready to take forward the negotiations with India over the long-running border dispute, and that the two countries' relationship was now stable enough for a settlement to be reached.

Many analysts believe that the declared budget is only a small proportion of what China actually spends on its military power. Many believe that the increase is a sign of China's desire to put pressure on its military competitors, both regionally and globally.

India is not the only regional power that China has territorial issues with. According to India's Economic Times, on Thursday 3rd March, Japan scrambled military jets after Chinese naval airplanes flew near disputed islands in the East China Sea, although the Chinese did not enter Japan's airspace.

The disputed islands, known in China as the Diaoyu islands and in Japan as the Senakaku islands, have long been disputed by the two sides. The capture of a Chinese boat captain in disputed waters by Japanese patrols in September 2010 drove relations to the lowest levels in years.

The South China Sea dispute has also heated up, with the Philippines demanding an explanation from China over a recent incident in which it says two Chinese patrol boats threatened to ram a survey ship.

China has taken steps to resolve many of its residual border issues. It appears that maritime disputes and issues with India will, however, be harder to solve.

Sources: Economic Times, Xinhua, Times of India, The Hindu

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.

Top 10 Border Stories of 2010

2010 was a busy year in the border world: historic agreements were reached, conflict threatened, and as the year ended, all eyes were on Sudan.

1. Norway and Russia maritime agreement - April
2010 saw increased focus on the arctic region as the continued receding of ice makes oil and gas exploration increasingly tempting and shipping routes more plausible, and in April Norway and Russia came to an agreement over the Barents Sea. The agreement saw the extension of their maritime boundaries through 175,000sq km of previously disputed territory. The resulting 'Barents Sea Pact ' was signed by leaders of each country in September, and now require ratification by parliaments.

2. Slovenia's arbitration referendum - June
The lack of a firm maritime boundary agreement in the Piran Bay has been the main thorn in the sides of the former Yugoslav neighbours, and Slovenia had been threatening to block Croatia's EU entrance until the situation was resolved. In June, Slovenia voted in a national referendum to send the case to international arbitration, thereby creating a path for resolution.

3. Eritrea and Djibouti negotiation - June

The two year standoff between Eritrea and Djibouti over Ras Doumeira inched towards resolution when, in June, it was announced that both sides had agreed to a Qatar-mediated resolution process. The UN welcomed the move, but Eritrea's former master and regional enemy Ethiopia said Eritrea's actions should be viewed with caution.

4. Burkino Faso and Niger refer to ICJ - July

The African Union Border Programme encouraged all African nations to resolve their border disputes by 2012. Likely motivated by this, Burkina Faso and Niger decided to send their dispute over the central section of their border to the ICJ , and they jointly submitted their request in July. ICJ cases have a tendency to last for many years, and in an effort to avoid Nigeria-Cameroon style difficulties, Burkina Faso and Niger have established their own, very strict timeline, and have asked for a panel of experts to be appointed.

5. Thailand and Cambodia temple standoff - July-August
Cambodia's ownership over the eleventh century Preah Vihear temple was accepted by UNESCO in 2008, and tensions rose over the 2010 summer when Cambodia submitted new management plans for the temple and the surrounding area to the organisation. Thailand threatened to drop out of UNESCO, and both sides stepped up their military presence around the temple area. Diplomacy prevailed, and several rounds of talks have been held since.

6. China and India war of words - August
While both countries have tried to emphasise their good relations this year, problems remain between China and India over their disputed Himalayan border. In August, Beijing reportedly denied a visa to an Indian general on an official visit because he oversaw army actions in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India is said to have responded by freezing military exchanges, although exactly what was effected was not clear. Indian concerns over China's actions in neighbouring Burma and Pakistan continued throughout the year, and no progress was made in resolving the decade-long dispute over their shared border.

7. China and Japan island dispute - September
After a Chinese fishing trawler was intercepted and arrested in disputed waters near the Diaoyu (or Senkaku) Islands, relations between China and Japan reached a low. Anti-Japanese protests broke out across China, which continued, even after the captain and crew were released back to China a few weeks later.

8. Nicaragua and Costa Rica San Juan dispute - October

Nicaraguan dredging of the San Juan River, the border between the two countries, but which Nicaragua controls, caused Costa Rican concern, and they accused the Nicaraguan army of occupying some of their land. Reports that Nicaragua were acting based on Google Maps grabbed headlines, and Nicaraguan refusal to leave the land has resulted in the case being taken to the ICJ.

9. North and South Koreas' military clash - November-December
South Korean military execises in disputed waters around Yeonpyeong Island in late November provoked an artillery response from the North, which resulted in four South Korean deaths. South Korea continued to carry out the exercises, supported by US, and while Pyongyang promised further retaliation, they never carried it out.

10. Sudan's run up to the referendum - year long

Preparations for the 9th January 2011 Southern Sudan independence referendum progressed relatively smoothly, despite the South accusing Khartoum of delaying tactics, and Khartoum's displeasure at the presence of UN troops on the North-South border. Talks over Abyei brokedown, however, and it is extremely unlikely that the mooted separate referendum for residents of the oil-rich border region will go ahead. The start of 2011 is likely to see the creation of the first new African nation since 1993, but whether peace can be maintained is yet to be seen.

For more information on any of these stories, see the menas borders website, here.