By Abanti Bhattacharya
Establishing Indian sovereignty in Arunachal Pradesh could solidify Chinese claims in Tibet.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s June 8 visit to New Delhi has brought up the stapled visa issue again, but with a new twist. The Chinese now argue that the stapled visa for the residents of Arunachal Pradesh is a “goodwill” gesture to facilitate the “outbound and overseas travel” of the people in the region. This position, though articulated officially for the first time, is not entirely new. Chinese scholars, primarily at think-tanks, have for some time posited the view that the stapled visa issue is to address the disputed border primarily with regard to the people of China. They argue that with rising nationalism and public awareness of the border dispute in Arunachal Pradesh, the government has adopted the policy of issuing stapled visas so as to convince the Chinese people that China has not made any concession to India on the border, and thereby sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, which they call “South Tibet.”
Indeed, the stapled visa issue raises the question of sovereignty for Arunachal Pradesh for India. Applying the same logic, the Chinese government has issued stapled visas to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The issuance of stapled visas to Kashmiris questions not only India’s sovereignty over J&K, but also shows China’s support for Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. In effect, by using the stapled visa argument, the Chinese have not only kept up pressure on the Arunachal Pradesh border issue; they have also infringed on India’s internal matters related to Kashmir.
However, despite China’s intransigence on their shared border and Kashmir, India has leverage to pressure China on Tibet. By inviting Lobsang Sangay, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Exiled Government in Dharamsala, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing in ceremony, India has taken a decisive step in addressing the stapled visa issue. Quite notably, the invitation to Modi’s swearing in was not to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, but to the democratically elected leader of the entire Tibetan community. It is worth recalling that the worldwide Tibetan community participates in the election of the Tibetan prime minister. Clearly, the recognition accorded to Sangay at Modi’s swearing in ceremony questions China’s sovereignty in Tibet.
Read the full story at The Diplomat