BEIJING, June 23 – In an implicit recognition of Sikkim being part of the Indian territory, China on Monday agreed to trade through the northeastern state and India has decided to recognise the Tibetan autonomous region as part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
The agreement on opening of trading posts on the Sikkim-Tibet border, in effect recognising Sikkim as part of India after 28 years of its merger, is contained in an MoU on expanded border trade signed at the end of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao here.
Besides the MoU on border trade, India and China signed the first-ever joint declaration, to be made public on Tuesday, which lays down “goals and guiding principles” for future relationship between the two Asian giants.
India has agreed to recognise the Tibetan autonomous region as part of the Chinese territory. The details and the exact formulations on the sensitive subjects of Sikkim and Tibet would be known only on Tuesday after the joint declaration, signed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, and the border trade agreement initialled by the foreign ministers of the two countries, are made public on Tuesday, a day prior to the Indian leader’s departure to Shanghai.
While being reticent about the two documents, Indian sources sought to dispel any suggestion of a quid pro quo on questions of Sikkim and Tibet.
