Arunachal Pradesh: A separate nation on Google Earth

[RajeshA]

If the Chinese get others to put Arunachal Pradesh as disputed territory, why can't India get MNCs to mark Tibet as disputed territory.

If China disputes Arunachal Pradesh, India should dispute Tibet. That is the way the game is played. That is the way, India should play the game.

Crying over disputed areas doesn't solve problems. Expanding the disputes to other countries could solve the problem.

[Jarita]

^^^ Arunachal & Tibet are not equal - equal and we Indians fall into that trap all too often. The same with Kashmir where it legally acceded to India whereas China took Tibet by force.
Likewise Arunachal is part of India's civilizational mileu whereas Tibet is not part of Chinas. Tibet is more Indias so let us not use it to do equal-equal. Would prefer to do equal-equal with Xinjiang or other such areas. Infact since Arunachalis want to be with India, that also is not a good equivalent.
Any thoughts?

[SwamyG]

I agree with Rajesh; India should make all efforts to dispute Tibet. India should not hesitate to cause takleef to adarmic Chinese rulers.

[RajeshA]

The first principle India needs to learn is that "no war should be fought just in one's own territory." I don't just mean a military conflict. I mean all disputes at all levels. Another way to say it is "offence is the best defense"!

Kargil is one prime example of the current Indian thinking. We still show fear of escalation, when the others have none. The others are more than willing to fight wars in our territories.

Now that Arunachal Pradesh is being disputed by China, what India would do is to try to defend our claims in the court of international opinion, with the MNCs, who have interests in India but also in China.

What we should do is to dispute China's claims over Tibet! But just withdrawing India's recognition of Chinese suzerainty or sovereignty over Tibet would not be enough. China has pulled Arunachal Pradesh into the disputed column by itself laying claims on it, not by not recognizing it as Indian territory.

India would have to say that Tibet is part of India. That is what would be needed. But we would probably not do it, because we fear escalation, even if that is the only way forwards.

[SwamyG]

I do not understand the escalation part, wouldn't China be concerned about escalation too? China cares about economy and trade as much as India does.

[RajeshA]

I do not understand the escalation part, wouldn't China be concerned about escalation too? China cares about economy and trade as much as India does.

'Escalation' is to be understood in the right context. In military terms, escalation means one thing, in diplomatic sphere, it means something different.

When the Japanese took the Chinese captain of the trawler who rammed his boat into the Japanese navy ships off the Senkaku islands, the Chinese also went for escalation - they took four Japanese construction workers into detention, plus stopped all diplomatic meetings, stopped the export of rare earths, stopped cultural exchanges, etc.

So when China claims 83743 km² of Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh, India's correct response would be to lay claims to Tibet (1,228,400 km² of Tibet Autonomous Region and 721,000 km² of Qinghai, etc). After some time one could force China to accept current boundaries, but as things stand now, they have no reason to look for compromises, because the war of claims is being fought on Indian-controlled territory.

One thing to note is that even though the Chinese claim Arunachal Pradesh as their territory, they have not started a war and tried to conquer and hold on to Indian territory. So there is also no pressure upon India to 'liberate' Tibet by force just because we lay claims on Tibet occupied by China.

[SwamyG]

Agreed. India should do whatever it takes.....

[Philip]

V.simple.Contest China's claim to Tibet and Taiwan.Say that China is encroaching upon Indian territory in Aksai Chin and POK.We needn't go to war,but simply contest it and make it an issue.The Argentinian leader has just accused the RN of being "pirates" and the the Falklands/Malvinas is Argentina's,but says that they won't go to war over it! They're probably waiting for the huge British defence cuts which will make it impossible ever again for any British expeditionary force from retaking the Falklands again.Engaging more forcefully with Vietnam,Taiwan,etc. will keep the Chinese off balance,at least as much as they are trying to with Pak.