1954 Sino-Indian Agreement

The 1954 Sino-Indian Agreement, also called the Panchsheel Agreement,[1] officially the Agreement on Trade and Intercourse Between Tibet Region of China and India, was signed by China and India in Peking on 29 April 1954. The preamble of the agreement stated the panchsheel, or the five principles of peaceful coexistence, that China proposed and India favoured. The agreement reflected the adjustment of the previously existing trade relations between Tibet and India to the changed context of India's decolonisation and China's assertion of suzerainty over Tibet. Bertil Lintner writes that in the agreement, "Tibet was referred to, for the first time in history, as 'the Tibet Region of China'".[2]

The agreement expired on 6 June 1962, as per the original term limit, in the midst of the Sino-Indian border tensions. It was not renewed. By October of that year, war broke out between the two sides.[3]

Background

The background of the 1954 Agreement includes the Convention of Calcutta (between Britain and China, concerning Tibet), the Convention of Lhasa (between Britain and Tibet), the Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet, the Anglo-Russian Convention, Anglo Chinese trade regulations of 1908 and 1914, the alteration of the Aitchison treaty in 1938, the failure of the Tibetan appeal to the UN, the Seven Point Agreement 1951 (between China and the Ganden Phodrang government of Tibet), the Sino-India negotiations concerning Tibet, 1951 to 1953, and the Sino–India conference on Tibetan trade and intercourse, December 1953 to April 1954.[4]

Negotiations regarding inclusion of passes

In December 1953, the Sino–India conference on Tibetan trade and intercourse started. During the negotiations related to which passes to include, Indian diplomats were successful in the inclusion of only six names. India tried putting forward other names, but did not push China and backed away after China showed resistance.[5] The Chinese also objected to the mention of Demchok as one of the passes.[6]

According to Claude Arpi, the passes/routes mentioned by Delhi were:[5]

Summary of agreement

Preamble

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence or Panchsheel upon which the articles of the treaty were based on are listed as:[7]

  1. mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty,
  2. mutual non-aggression,
  3. mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs,
  4. equality and mutual benefit, and
  5. peaceful co- existing

Articles

Article I of the agreement paved the way for the establishment of Chinese trade agencies in New Delhi, Calcutta, and Kalimpong and Indian trade Agencies at Yatung, Gyantse, and Gartok. These trade agencies "would enjoy freedom from arrest while exercising their functions", among other privileges.[7]

Article II stated that traders of both countries would trade at pre-determined places. "The Government of China agrees to specify Yatung, Gyantse, and Phari as markets for trade. The Government of India agrees that trade may be carried on in India, including places like, Kalimpong, Siliguri, and Calcutta, according to customary practice." Also, the "Government of China agrees to specify Gartok, Pulanchung (Taklakot), Gyanima-Khargo, Gyanima-Chakra, Ramura, Dongbra, Puling-Sumdo, Nabra, Shangtse, and Tashigong as markets for trade"; and in the future the Government of India shall specify markets "on the basis of equality and reciprocity to do so".[7]

Article III covered pilgrimages by religious believers of the two countries and outlined certain provisions for pilgrims of both countries.[7]

Article IV pointed out some passes and routes which traders and pilgrims may use: Shipki La pass, Mana pass, Niti pass, Kungri Bingri pass, Dharma pass, and Lipu Lekh pass.[7]

Article V covered details related to certificates issued to traders that permitted traders to use other routes than those mentioned in Article IV as well as border transit procedures.[7]

Article VI outlined that "upon ratification by both Governments and shall remain in force for eight (8) years" and the procedure for extension.[7]

The agreement was signed Nedyam Raghavan, Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Republic of India and Chang Han Fu, Plenipotentiary of the Central People's Government, People's Republic of China.[7] Raghavan was the Indian Ambassador while Chang Han-fu was the Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister.

Further, notes were exchanged.[8]

Criticism

Commentators in the West and also within India viewed the agreement as a "diplomatic blunder" on the part of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, especially after the 1962 war.[4]

References
  1. Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India (2010), pp. 240–243.
  2. Lintner, Bertil (2012). Great Game East : India, China And The Struggle For Asia's Most VolatileFrontier. HarperCollins Publishers India. Introduction. ISBN 978-93-5029-536-6.
  3. Lintner, China's India War (2018), pp. 142–143: "But the Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between Tibet Region of China and India, which was concluded in 1954, expired on 6 June 1962, and, at a time when tension was mounting along the frontier, there was no interest on either side to have the agreement extended."
  4. Gupta, K. (1978). "Sino-Indian Agreement on Tibetan Trade and Intercourse: Its Origin and Significance". Economic and Political Weekly. 13 (16): 696–702. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4366549 – via JSTOR.
  5. Arpi, Claude (2020-08-28). "The History of Barahoti Plain" (PDF). Claude Arpi. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  6. Arpi, Claude (August 2015). "The Panchsheel Agreement (Book Excerpt: Tibet - The Lost Frontier)". Indian Defence Review. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  7. "Tibet Justice Center - Legal Materials on Tibet - China - Sino-Indian Trade Agreement over Tibetan Border (1954) [p.185]". www.tibetjustice.org. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  8. Notes Exchanged. Peking, April 29, 1954. pp 125—133.

Bibliography
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