1. Full name: Huynh Thanh Loan                         2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: 2nd July 1984                             4. Place of birth: Ho Chi Minh City

5. Admission decision number:  3684/2015/QĐ-XHNV-SĐH                       Dated 31/12/2015

6. Changes in academic process:

7. Official thesis title: The Border Issue in India - China Relations in the Period 1950-2014

8. Major: World History                                   9. Code:  62 22 03 13

10. Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Do Tien Sam, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thien Thanh

11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- India-China border issue is an issue left by history. The issue, however, is also one created by a series of events that took place after 1950 when China liberated Tibet from 1950 to1951; India and China signed the 1954 Agreement, and more particularly after India's decision to give asylum to Dalai Lama in 1959. In other words, in the period of 1950-1959, India and China’s policy decisions contributed to emergence of the Indo-Chinese border issue and made it become an inevitable part of Indo-Chinese relations throughout their bilateral diplomatic relations up to now.

- Boundary events occurring between the two countries are influenced by various factors, which can be identified with five basic ones that lead to the border policy decisions by India and China. These five factors are historical legacy, the geo-strategic importance of disputed areas, the strategic competition between India and China, nationalism, and two “thorns” - Tibet and Pakistan. These factors, however, have not existed in their original forms, but significantly changed in the level and nature during each period of India-China bilateral relations.

- India-China border issue remains unresolved is also due to the fact that despite the same historical, political-strategic approaches, the two countries prefer different approach on the negotiating table. In the early stages, India tends to negotiate based on historical and legal evidences, and region by region, while China prefers solution based on political and strategic perspective with swap deal proposals. However, at later stage, India became more flexible in negotiating with China, both of the countries emphasized political will as the main foundation in negotiations.

- During the process of the border dispute from 1950 to 2014, the Indo-Chinese border has gone through three basic periods. In the 1950-1962 period, Indo-Chinese border relations could be described as “a friendship with rifts”, while during the period 1963-1987, the Indo-Chinese border was in the vortex of a patchy relationship after a hostile “break-up”. Between 1989 and 2014, the two countries have set up different measures to handle border disputes through negotiation mechanisms; however, stand-offs go hand in hand with cautious efforts in dealing with conflicts and confidence building. There are also nationalism of “big country” and strategic competition being pushed up by both of the countries during their rise, reinforcing their mutual distrust.

- When trying to resolve border disputes, India has shown more goodwill than China. This is evident in the moves of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1969), Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (1988), and Prime Minister Vajpayee (2003). Vajpayee has made a “breakthrough” in the history of border negotiations with China when he comes to develop other potential cooperation fields, such as the economic one without border settlement as a precondition. Meanwhile, the Swap Deal Package is a consistent perspective of China's border policy - a form of potential cooperation beneficial to China.

12. Practical applicability, if any:

- Being a useful reference for lecturers, researchers and those who are interested in the border issue in India-China relations.

- Suggesting some practical policies for Vietnam to develop its relations with India and China

13. Further research directions, if any:

- Strategic Competition between India and China.

14. Thesis-related publications:

Vietnamese

- Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2015), “Activities of Social Societies in India”, Journal of Indian and Asian Studies, (10), pp. 10-17.

 - Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2016), “Influence of Indian civilization on Cham scripts”, Journal of Indian and Asian Studies (3), pp. 16-23.

 - Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2016), “The Border Demarcation Policy of the British Raj in the Northeast India”, Journal of Indian and Asian Studies (9), pp. 9-16.

- Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2017), “Vietnam – India Relations: From ancient contacts to people-to-people connection today”, Journal of Indian and Asian Studies (2), pp. 1-10.

- Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2017), “India’s policy of soft power under Prime Minister Nadrenra Modi and its practice in Vietnam”, International Conference Proceedings: Vietnam – India: 45 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of strategic partnership, March 2017, Centre of Indian Studies, Ho Chi Minh Political Academy, pp. 257-266.

- Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2017), “The Policy of Indian Diaspora and the role of Indian Diaspora in Vietnam”, International Conference Proceedings: 45 years of Vietnam – India Relations: Achievements and Prospects, May 2017, Institute of Indian and Southwest Asian Studies, pp. 327-358.

- Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2017), “Factor of Nationalism in India - China Border Issue”, Journal of Indian and Asian Studies (8), pp. 9-16.

- Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2017), “Art of buiding national image through India’s soft power”, International Conference Proceedings: Indian Soft Power – Vietnam’s Soft Power in the context of regionalization and globalization, September/2017, Centre of Indian Studies, Ho Chi Minh Political Academy, pp. 242-252.

- Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2018), “The way to build Indian national image”, Journal of Indian and Asian Studies (3), pp. 57-63.

- Huỳnh Thanh Loan (2018), “An Assessment of the Efforts to Resolve Border Dispute between India and China in the period of 1977-1987”, Journal of Indian and Asian Studies (5), pp. 24-31.

English

- Huynh Thanh Loan (2017), “Vienam's Foreign Policy: The Role of India in the South China Sea Issue”, International Conference Proceedings: South China Sea: Emerging Scenario, 24-26/7/2017, Sriventakeshwara University, Tirupati, India, pp. 99-109.

- Huynh Thanh Loan (2017), “The Position of India in Vietnam's Foreign Policy”, International Conference Proceedings: Emerging Horizons in India - Vietnam Relations, 3-4/7/2017, Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, pp. 8-27.