China to continue its stapled visas policy, says Wang

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi successfully articulated his country's India policy at his official meetings with both his Indian counterpart Sushma Swraj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and after two days of talks with Indian policy makers China is steadfast in its anti-India stance.

After a three-hour-long ''substantive'' talks with Swraj in New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan on Sunday, Wang kept all sticky issues on the India-China platter untouched.

On Monday, Wang met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for about 45 minutes, which was officially described as ''constructive and cordial''.

While what transpired at Wang's meetings with Sushma Swraj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi beyond the customary messages and congratulatory words is yet to be known, Wang has achieved his goal of reminding the new Indian administration of the need for strategic cooperation between India and China.

And, at the end of his visit, before leaving India, he delivered a parting kick, saying that China's policy of issuing stapled visas to Indians domiciled in Arunachal Pradesh is in fact a ''goodwill gesture'' from the Chinese government.

"China has resorted to a special arrangement of issuance of stapled visa to address the need for travel of local people. This gesture is out of goodwill and flexibility and if we do not do that we will not be able to address the concern of outbound and overseas travel of these people," said Wang.

Wang has conveyed that China has, in fact, hardened its stand and the stapled visas policy is here to stay. China follows a similar policy of issuing stapled visas to Indians domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir while China issues regular visas to visitors from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

India's acceptance of Tibet as part of China has only emboldened the country to harden its stance on Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir.

China describes Arunachal Pradesh as ''Southern Tibet'' and has stationed its troops in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, two issues that the Modi government may also find difficult to tackle.