New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Amid the India and China border dispute, the Ministry of External Affairs has sought experts on China for special projects and research but they should be retired Joint Secretary and Major General rank officers.
The experts would be working at the ministry’s Centre of Contemporary China Studies (CCCS) division. They want one expert for special projects and another for research. For special projects, they want a military officer of retired major general rank. And for carrying out research, they want either a retired Joint Secretary level officer or a Major General rank officer.
The ministry has specified that these experts should have knowledge of China and issues related to China including India-China relations. They should also have experience of engaging or working with the Chinese system.
Most importantly, they should have “experience of living in or serving in China” apart from knowledge of the Chinese language.
With the Chinese making unilateral changes at the Line of Actual Control since May last year, India has revamped security and mechanisms to deal with the emerging threat.
Two weeks ago, China took a unilateral decision to bring about a legislation on land boundary law. India clearly stated that the Chinese decision can have implications on existing bilateral arrangements on border management.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said, “We have noted that China has passed a new “Land Boundary Law” on October 23, 2021. The law states among other things that China abides by treaties concluded with or jointly acceded to by foreign countries on land boundary affairs. It also has provisions to carry out reorganisation of districts in the border areas.”
China’s unilateral decision, Bagchi said, to bring about legislation which can have implications on our existing bilateral arrangements on border management as well as on the boundary question is of concern to us.
Such a unilateral move will have no bearing on the arrangements that both sides have already reached earlier, whether it is on the Boundary Question or for maintaining peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China Border areas.
“We also expect that China will avoid undertaking action under the pretext of this law which could unilaterally alter the situation in the India-China border areas,” the MEA spokesperson had said.
Furthermore, the passage of this new law does not in our view confer any legitimacy to the so-called China-Pakistan “Boundary Agreement” of 1963 which the Government of India has consistently maintained is an illegal and invalid agreement, he added.
India and China have been engaged in a border dispute for the last 18 months.
