护照地图引燃中印领土矛盾

India and China are engaged in a fresh territorial row after Beijing recently started issuing passports showing two disputed regions as its own.

印度和中国卷入了新一轮领土争端，起因在于北京最近开始发放的护照将两个争议地区显示为本国领土。

The face-off began a few weeks back, after India discovered Beijing issuing new biometric passports depicting two areas along the countries’ 4,000-kilometer disputed Himalayan border as part of China.

这场公然对峙始于几个星期之前。当时印度发现，北京新发的生物识别电子护照将喜马拉雅山脉4,000公里争议边境线上的两个地区划为中国领土。

One of the areas, Arunachal Pradesh, is a northeastern Indian state that Beijing briefly captured in a 1962 border war and still claims as part of China. The other, Aksai Chin, also a focus of the 1962 war, is administered as part of China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region but claimed in its entirety by India.

一个地区是印度东北的阿鲁纳恰尔邦(Arunachal Pradesh)。北京在1962年的边境战争中一度夺得该地区，目前仍然称它是中国领土。另一个地区是阿克赛钦(Aksai Chin)，也是1962年中印战争的争夺焦点，目前由中国新疆自治区管辖，但印度声称该地区全部为印度领土。

“We are not prepared to accept it and we would not, India’s foreign minister Salman Khurshid said in an interview to NDTV news channel last week, posted on the foreign ministry’s website. “We, therefore, ensure that our flags of disagreement are put up immediately when something happens.

根据印度外交部网站刊登的访谈，印度外长库尔希德(Salman Khurshid)接受NDTV资讯频道采访时说，对此我们不愿意接受，不会接受。他说，因此我们在某些事情发生时一定会马上旗帜鲜明地提出不同主张。

India has not officially complained to China about the issue, said Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman at India’s foreign ministry. Instead, the Indian embassy in Beijing has responded by issuing visas to Chinese nationals stamped with maps which show both Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as falling within India’s borders.

印度外交部发言人艾克巴鲁丁(Syed Akbaruddin)说，印度还没有就此事向中国提出正式抗议。作为回应，印度驻华大使馆向中国公民发放的签证上，阿鲁纳恰尔邦和阿克赛钦都处于印度境内。

“Every country has a right to determination on its boundaries. The Chinese side have expressed its view on where its boundary lies. We have our own opinion, Mr. Akbaruddin said.

艾克巴鲁丁说，每个国家都有权决定其边界线，中方表达了它对其边界线所处位置的看法，我们表达了我们的观点。

China and India are yet to find a solution to their disputed borders despite a series of talks since 1981. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as south Tibet. In 2009, it complained about a visit to the state by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying it was disputed territory. Beijing has denied visas to people seeking to travel to China from Arunachal Pradesh.

尽管1981年中印开展了一系列谈判，但两国还没有找到边界争议的解决办法。中国将阿鲁纳恰尔邦称为“藏南。2009年，中国对印度总理辛格(Manmohan Singh)访问该邦提出抗议，说这是争议领土。北京曾拒绝向希望从阿鲁纳恰尔邦进入中国的人员发放签证。

India and China also have been at loggerheads over the disputed region of Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in its entirety by both. In 2010, China, which backs Pakistan’s territorial claims, refused to issue visas in passports of Indians coming from Kashmir. Instead, it put those visas on a piece of paper stapled inside the passport, a signal that Beijing doesn’t recognize India’s administration of its portion of Kashmir. India complained and China reverted to issuing visas in Kashmiri residents’ passports.

印度和中国在克什米尔(Kashmir)争议地区也曾闹过矛盾。克什米尔被印度和巴基斯坦分割，两国都称该地区全部归本国所有。2010年，支持巴基斯坦领土主张的中国拒绝将签证盖在克什米尔印度人的护照上，而是将签证盖在一张纸上，然后将纸张别在护照内页，表示北京不承认印度对印控克什米尔地区的管辖。印度提出抗议后中国又像原来一样将签证盖在克什米尔居民的护照上。

India, however, claims both sides are working to sort out differences over their disputed frontier.

但印度声称两国都在努力厘清边界分歧。

“We are in the process of agreeing on a framework to settle the boundary, India’s National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi Monday, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

据通讯社印度报业托拉斯(Press Trust of India)报道，印度国家安全顾问梅农(Shivshankar Menon)周一在新德里一场活动的间隙说，我们正处于达成边界问题解决框架的进程之中。