US Official Stokes Border Tension Between India and China in the Himalayas

• US Official Stokes Border Tension Between India and China in the Himalayas 
  by Kumaran Ira, http://www.wsws.org/  
  The US Consul General in Kolkata, Craig L. Hall, provocatively endorsed Indian territorial claims against China, while meeting April 28 with the Chief Minister of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, Kalikho Pul.
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  Referring to Chinese claims on parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Hall said that the US government considers Arunachal Pradesh to be an integral part of India. Arunachal Pradesh—located in a strategic position bordering Bhutan in the west, Burma in the east, and China in the north—includes several areas that are also claimed by China, such as Tawang, site of the famous Tawang Monastery.
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  Hall called for infrastructure development in this remote and strategic region, where the construction of roads and transport infrastructure are vital to deploying military power. He also called for US-Indian joint ventures and partnerships in trade and commerce that could be arranged through the Consulate in Kolkata. “The Consulate,” said Hall, “is aware of the US companies interested in contract works for infrastructure development in India and in the North-East, in particular with special focus on Arunachal Pradesh.”
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  Hall’s comments were a calculated attempt to stoke the border dispute between India and China and were made just days after India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had visited Beijing for talks on resolving the border issue.
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  In 1962 India and China fought a month-long war over their disputed Himalayan border that claimed over 4,000 casualties. The war erupted following a series of violent border incidents in the aftermath of the 1959 CIA-backed Tibetan uprising against the Chinese regime. Following the uprising’s defeat, India had granted asylum to the Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, and to this day, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile is in Dharamsala in northwestern India.
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  India and China share a long border that passes through several disputed regions, including much of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin. The latter is located between the Chinese autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, and is claimed by India as part of the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Chinese forces overran Arunachal Pradesh, only later to pull back, and expanded their control over Aksai Chin.
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  Hall’s comments amounted to pouring fuel on the fire of the Sino-Indian border conflict. They make clear that as part of its “pivot to Asia,” which is aimed at isolating and preparing for war with China, Washington is willing to back Indian territorial claims that are viewed by Beijing as threats to China’s territorial integrity.
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  Hall’s remarks come as India, aligning increasingly with the US strategic offensive against China, seeks to leverage its relationship with Washington to attain the status of a global power. India is rapidly expanding its military and demanding that the states of South Asia recognize it as the regional hegemon.
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  The US is pushing for India to become a frontline state in its “pivot” against China. In April it got New Delhi’s agreement “in principle” to a bilateral Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) which will give the US military access to Indian military bases for resupply, repair and rest.
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  China strongly objected to Hall’s comments. On Wednesday, Beijing said that any “irresponsible” third party intervention in the Sino-Indian border dispute would “complicate” the issue.
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