Is Tibet a lost cause? Analyse wither from an Indian, Chinese, or UK-US perspective

Résumé du document

There are three areas in which China and India share a border that we can call the western sector, the middle sector and the eastern sector. These borders are unstable and they were the sources of many disagreements because there were no clear natural geographical borders and China and India disagreed on who had jurisdiction on the population around these borders. The question of Tibet, on the south-eastern border, was part of the disagreement.

It seemed necessary to clearly demarcate the border and Chinese and British-Indian delegations were sent and in 1914, the Simla agreements determined an official boundary: the McMahon line. It is important to note that with this line the British government tried to undermine Chinese sovereignty over Tibet and China never recognized this treaty, because China has always claimed an historical sovereignty over Tibet. In fact, only Tibet ratified this agreement. However it was not really an issue until the 1940s.

Extraits

[...] China feared India expansionism especially after the seizure of Goa in 1961. - China's victory of the 1962 Sino-India War and the re-affirmation of its dominance over Tibet The war that China initiated in September 1962 was defined by Beijing as a “self defence counter attack” against India's forward policy to drive Indian troops back across the border The international community wanted an independent Tibet so when Nehru asked for aid, the USA sent 60 million of military assistance. But China won the war and achieved its goal to give a lesson to India about the Chinese sovereignty and also to win the war in order to have a long-term stability along the border. [...]

[...] Is Tibet a lost cause? Analyse wither from an Indian, Chinese, or UK-US perspective - The context: a long-term disagreement about the Sino-Indian boundaries There are three areas in which China and India share a border that we can call the western sector, the middle sector and the eastern sector. These borders are unstable and they were the sources of many disagreements because there were no clear natural geographical borders and China and India disagreed on who had jurisdiction on the population around these borders. [...]

[...] He also asked a peace zone in Tibet, so he wants the withdrawal of the Chinese troops on the border. He also asked for autonomy at least, independence at the best. On the other hand, the Chinese want the recognition of the fact that Tibet is now a part of China. So it seems that Tibet and China are in a stalemate and that Tibet is a lot cause for both. - Conclusion: To my mind, if we take the Chinese point of view, Tibet has never been a lost cause for the PRC because PRC never stopped to make attempt to re-establish its dominance over it and officially, as regards the law, the Chinese claim that Tibet is part of China is true. [...]

[...] - China's tentative to re-establish dominance over Tibet In the mid 1950s, India realized that China was not respecting the line. China tried to re-establish its dominance over Tibet in 1950 with a take-over. In 1951 the Seventeen Points Agreement established the control of China over Tibet's trade and foreign affairs. Many groups in Tibet refused the China dominance (like the Kampa in eastern Tibet) and many Tibetans fled to India, considering this tentative to make Tibet a buffer zone as a takeover. [...]

[...] Moreover, the Tibetans themselves still want to believe in the Tibet cause, and even if the Dalai lama does not ask for independence anymore, he is still asking today for a real autonomy. BIBLIOGRAPHY: - SEGAL Gerald, Defending China (Oxford Press, 1985) - SWAINE M.D and TELLIS A.J, Interpreting China's Grand Strategy, Past, Present and Future (Rand, 2000) - VERTZBERGER Yaacov, ‘India's Border Conflict with China: a perceptual analysis', in Journal of Contemporary history, Volume 17 (Oct. [...]