The border issue between China and India is attributed to Western colonists' invasion of China's southwest frontiers. After British colonists drew the infamous McMahon Line in the 1920s, the British-controlled Indian Government continued to annex territories that did not originally belong to it. India inherited the legacy of the British imperialists after its independence in 1947. It even went so far as to illegally seize areas north of the McMahon Line. By 1953, it had gained control of most territories south of the McMahon Line. The border disputes between China and India culminated in an armed conflict in 1962. In 1986, despite the Chinese Government's protests, India's parliament passed a resolution to establish "Arunachal Pradesh," a so-called Indian state that China does not recognize.

According to its charter, the ADB should not interfere in the political affairs of its members and should consider only economic factors in its decision-making. It is not expected to take a stand on territorial disputes between its members. The governments of both China and India acknowledge that the two countries have yet to formally delimit their border. With joint efforts, they have already agreed on the political guidelines for resolving their border issue. But India often stealthily takes the issue to multilateral institutions to perpetuate its control over the disputed territories and gain an advantage in border negotiations with China, attempts that have resulted in diplomatic uproars between the two countries. China finds this unacceptable.

All countries attach great importance to border issues because they bear on their core interests. The border issue between China and India can only be solved through equal consultation between the two countries. No international organization has the right to interfere. The ADB's irrational move not only violated its charter and damaged its reputation as a regional financial institution in the Asia-Pacific region but also undermined China's interests and complicated the China-India border issue. China's strong reaction was fully justified. At the same time, it hopes that the ADB takes sensible and effective measures to minimize the negative implications of this move. Although it would be extremely difficult to overthrow the current document, it should be noted that it is only a framework document and much needs to be done to implement the loan projects. In this process, there may be some room for change.

China and India should work to improve their bilateral relations based on the common understanding reached by their leaders, bearing in mind the need to establish a strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity. They should take more trust-building measures along the line of actual control to avoid the escalation of the situation due to strategic misjudgment. In particular, they should prevent newly emerging provocations from adversely affecting their relations. The two countries, both endowed with time-honored civilizations, should respect history and reality, take into account the feelings of both nations, make the most of their political wisdom and come up with a reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to their border issue.

The author is a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations