Mr.B.S.Raghavan, IAS (Retd) and former adviser to UN, pointed out that Beijing genuinely believes India has done injustice to China on the issue of Arunachal Pradesh. He emphasised that India should not allow the border issue to persist for a long time as mistakes and accidents can happen. There was agreement with his view that the border issue cannot be solved through mechanisms like Joint Working Group (JWG) or talks between two special representatives or Experts group. It is high time that the matter is taken up at a direct political summit between the top leaders of the two countries to thrash it out and come to a quick settlement. This has a parallel with China-Vietnam border negotiations and the historic Sino-US rapprochement brought about by Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong in 1972. Four options for India were put forth on the occasion: (a) Maintaining the status quo and leaving the Arunachal Pradesh border as-is-where-is, with willingness for some adjustments. (b) Countering the Chinese stubborn position on Tawang based on their religious and national sentiments, with Indian claims over the spiritually important Mansarovar and adjoining territory extending from Lipulekh Pass to Zhangmu in Tibet , to facilitate easy and unhindered approach to Kailash; in other words, Manasarovar can be a bargaining chip for India. This may however need a cautionary approach so as to avoid any impression that such barter is a sign of India%u2019s weakness. Also, the barter needs parliamentar
