landmine

China not taking sides on Kashmir


The experts stress that China criticism of India for extending an invitation to the Dalai Lama has nothing to do with the border dispute.

Chinese experts say China isn't interfering in the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, despite a separatist leader of the India-controlled part of the region applying for a visa to visit China.


And the experts stress that China criticism of India for extending an invitation to the Dalai Lama has nothing to do with the border dispute.


"I believe China is not a party to the Kashmir conflict, but it has a stake as far as peace in the region is concerned," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the moderate faction of the Kashmiri separatist Hurriyat Conference, said in astatement late Friday, according to AFP.


"China has a direct link with Kashmir, as certain parts of Kashmir, including Aksai Chin, are under its control," he said, adding that he will visit China this Saturday on an invitation from a China-based non-governmental organization.


Farooq, who is chief priest at Kashmir's main mosque, also welcomed a joint statement earlier in the week by Chinese

President Hu Jintao and US President Barak Obama, who voiced support for better India-Pakistan relations.


Farooq's secretary, Shahidul Islam, was quoted by Rediff News as saying that the leader would be applying for the visa after the Eid festival, and that "he will be highlighting the Kashmir issue during his visit to China, which is now an important player in the region."


The statement on China's role in the Kashmir dispute was the first by separatist leaders since a revolt against New Delhi broke out in 1989, and Farooq will be the first among them to visit China if his visa application is approved.

pooh-bah

"It is wrong for India to relate some of China's statements, including the mentioning of South Asia in the China-US joint statement and China's assistance on power plant constructions in Pakistan, to Beijing's so-called interference with the Kashmir issue."


Sun Shihai, an expert on the Asia Pacific region at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the role played by China in Kashmir, if any, is only in helping maintain peace and promoting reconciliation, citing the Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan in 1999 in noting that mediation efforts made by China and neighboring countries have helped prevent a large-scale war.


"India mistakenly adopts a kind of Cold War mentality, which is 'an enemy's friend is also an enemy,'" Sun said.

netawhile

This may be a provocation to gain participation or to emphasize the need for more attention in the area.  India needs a provocative conflict to get more attention or cause friction between views of other larger groups.  "The squeaky wheel gets the oil" is a term that describes actions that people resort to in order to get help.  The quiet wheel is assumed to be working fine and no attention is needed.  Although we may surmise this, it is also a real problem that needs an intelligent view or persuasion to settle locally without a mounting effort of a larger order.