VZCZCXRO3058
RR RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHCN
DE RUEHCI #0289/01 2840949
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100949Z OCT 08
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2162
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2032
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0928
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0923
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0624
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0605
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 0459
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0160
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0140
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2641

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000289 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SCA/PPD FOR PAUL NEVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PHUM KIRF SOCI IN
SUBJECT: ARUNACHAL PRADESH'S TAWANG DISTRICT:  FEELING VULNERABLE ON 
CHINA'S FRONTIER 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  During a visit to Arunachal Pradesh's West 
Kameng and Tawang Districts, Kolkata PAO spoke with students and 
faculty at area colleges about the U.S. election process, as 
well as opportunities to study in the U.S.  Conversations with 
local leaders and ordinary citizens in both districts 
highlighted the vulnerability of the region to any moves by the 
Chinese to reassert long-standing territorial claims.  The 
people of Tawang district feel especially vulnerable, according 
to the spiritual head of the Tawang Monastery and a local 
political leader.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) During a visit to western Arunachal Pradesh from 
September 22 - 26, Kolkata Public Affairs officer (PAO) visited 
the two district headquarters of Bomdila (West Kameng district) 
and Tawang town (Tawang district).  While a purpose of the visit 
was public outreach and interaction with students and faculty at 
area colleges and schools, as well as to make contact with local 
NGOs, conversations with community leaders, especially in 
Tawang, highlighted the feeling of vulnerability in this remote 
corner of India towards possible Chinese designs on the region. 
 
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Bomdila College Students Enthusiastic Over U.S. Elections 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
-------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Kolkata PAO and local FSN first journeyed to Bomdila, a 
town spilling down verdant slopes at an altitude of 8,000 feet. 
The road to Bomdila from the border town of Bhalukpong has been 
heavily damaged in parts by the recent monsoon rains, and the 
trip from the Assam border took eight hours of hard driving by 
four-wheel drive vehicle.  A heavy Indian military presence can 
be seen in the Tenga River valley midway between Bhalukpong and 
Bomdila, with road repairs in full swing.  While Bomdila has a 
helipad, there is at present no regular helicopter service to 
this district headquarters. 
 
¶4.  (U) During the first-ever Public Affairs visit to Bomdila 
College, Kolkata PAO addressed an enthusiastic audience of 
several hundred students and faculty on the subject of the U.S. 
election process and the current election campaign in the United 
States.  And while Bomdila has poor internet reliability and 
worse land communications, the students proved surprisingly 
well-informed about the American presidential candidates, 
peppering PAO with informed questions about the candidates' 
individual stands on foreign policy, the economy and the future 
of the U.S.-India relationship. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Over the Sela Pass Into Tawang District 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Continuing north, PAO and FSN journeyed a further 
eight hours from Bomdila to Tawang district, which entails a 
bone-shattering ride over the Sela Pass at 14,000 feet.   Much 
of the road has been very damaged by this year's monsoon rains 
and the military is making attempts to keep the route open, with 
modest success at this point.  All military equipment to Tawang 
district and the border with China must travel this road so the 
military consequences of not maintaining this line of 
communication are high.  On much of the route from Bomdila to 
Tawang Indian military bulldozers and troops can be seen 
laboring to remove landslides. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In Tawang district, a verdant series of valleys with 
an average elevation of 10,000 feet and an estimated population 
of 80,000, religious and social life revolves around the Tawang 
Monastery, founded in 1650 and the largest Tibetan Buddhist 
monastic community in India, with 450 active monks in residence. 
 The inhabitants of Tawang are the Monpas, ethnically and 
culturally related to Tibetans and speaking a Tibetan dialect. 
For much of their history the Monpas have been ruled by Tibetans 
from across the current line of control on Tawang's northern 
border with the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China.  The 
sixth Dalai Lama was born in Tawang and his ancestral home is 
still a pilgrimage site.  The current and 14th Dalai Lama, when 
he fled the Chinese takeover of Lhasa in 1959, crossed into 
India at Tawang and rested there before continuing his journey. 
Tawang is the closest point in India to Lhasa, and the Monpas of 
Tawang have always felt a kinship with their co-religionists to 
the north. 
 
 
KOLKATA 00000289  002 OF 002 
 
 
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Chief Lama Says Tawang on China's Radar Screen 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) During a private interview in his chambers with the 
Venerable Tulku Rinpoche, the 42-year-old current head of Tawang 
Monastery, the Rinpoche told Kolkata PAO that the relationship 
between the Dalai Lama and the Tawang Monastery has historically 
always been very close. For this reason it was natural for the 
14th Dalai Lama to seek sanctuary in Tawang in 1959, and the 
Dalai Lama has made it a point to visit Tawang several times 
over the past decade.  In 1997 a major renovation of the 
monastery was completed, paid for by the Dalai Lama's 
administration in Dharamsala.  The Rinpoche went on to point out 
that the spiritual sway of the Tawang Monastery reaches beyond 
the district, and he noted that many of the pilgrims who attend 
festivals at the monastery come by foot over the passes from 
districts in eastern Bhutan.  There are villages north of the 
line of control in the TAR where people speak Monpa, and they 
would also come if the Chinese permitted them. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The Rinpoche explained to PAO, in a mixture of English 
and translated Monpa, that he feels a special responsibility for 
Tawang monastery and the people of Tawang because "I founded 
this monastery almost 400 years ago."  He was referring to the 
fact that although in his current incarnation he was born 42 
years ago in Dirang near Bomdila, he is considered an 
incarnation of Mera Lama, the founder of Tawang monastery in the 
17th century.  Because of this responsibility, he feels deeply 
that the attitude of the Chinese towards Tawang "is very 
dangerous."  The Rinpoche believes that the Chinese, while 
claiming most of Arunachal Pradesh as part of China, actually 
have more immediate designs on Tawang district.  This, he 
states, is precisely because of Tawang's "historical close ties 
to Tibet."  He wonders if the central government in New Delhi 
cares enough about "little Tawang" to defend it. 
 
 
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Rising Political Star Echoes the Rimpoche's Fears 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The current Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, in 
office since April 2007, is Mr. Khandu Dorjee of Tawang.  PAO 
spoke with his nephew, Mr. Tetsin Chombay Kee, who runs an NGO 
called Yuva based in Tawang, as well as being managing director 
of the Kee Relations and Event Management Company based in the 
state capital of Itanagar.  Mr. Chombey was in Tawang the same 
time as PAO and acted as an unofficial host and guide. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Mr. Chombey, educated at St. Xavier's College in 
Mumbai, successful in business and now part of the most powerful 
family in Arunachal, denies he is interested in a career in 
politics but did not hide his close ties to business and 
community leaders throughout Tawang.  He also spoke openly of 
the concern that people in Tawang have about China's intentions. 
 "Everybody here knows that they can come when they want," he 
states.  And like the Rinpoche, Mr. Chombey believes that the 
Chinese, no matter what their ultimate decision to be concerning 
claims to most of Arunachal, are really serious about Tawang 
being part of China.  Tawang, Mr. Chombey reasons, is really 
just part of Tibet in Chinese eyes, which in turn makes it part 
of China.  "We're special to the Chinese, and that's not good," 
Mr. Chombey says.  And what makes this grab possible are two 
points:  "Nobody outside of Tawang cares" what happens to 
Tawang; and the poor state of communication.  How can the Indian 
military defend Tawang, given the condition of the road?  On the 
Chinese side, Mr. Chombey says, "everybody knows they have a 
good highway for their troops." 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Comment:  Tawang's physical vulnerability is obvious 
to anyone who travels overland to reach it.  The current two-day 
journey from the Assam-Arunachal border to Tawang is barely 
passable, in spite of the military's landslide removal efforts. 
Even with repair, this road that supplies the Indian defensive 
line on Tawang district's northern border with the Tibetan 
Autonomous Region of China is merely a one-lane dirt track in 
many places and would be sorely taxed to support a large-scale 
movement of troops and supplies in case of border incursions or 
other activity.  The inhabitants of Tawang, only too aware of 
their vulnerability, hope that New Delhi will keep them in mind 
should the Chinese move south, but they are not optimistic 
anyone in the capital cares enough to go out on a limb for them. 
PAYNE