BackIndia, China conclude talks on a ‘constructive’ note
Foreign ministry says the special representatives agreed that a strong and expanding India-China partnership bodes well for peace and stability in the region
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New Delhi: India and China on Tuesday ended on a “constructive" note talks that included exchanges on their long-running boundary dispute with an agreement that peace and tranquility along their common borders was a “cornerstone" of expanding bilateral ties, an Indian official said.
India hosted the 17th round of talks at the level of special representatives in New Delhi with National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon heading the Indian side and state councillor Yang Jeichi leading the Chinese delegation.
Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin described the talks that included discussions on the situation in West Asia and Afghanistan besides the boundary question as “ very constructive round".
After having arrived at the “political parameters and guiding principles for a boundary settlement", both sides are engaged in discussing an agreed framework for the final settlement of the boundary dispute, Akbaruddin said.
The third step will be delineation of the boundary on maps.
China claims 90,000 sq. km of Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh and occupies around 38,000 sq. km in Jammu and Kashmir, which India claims as its territory. Also, under a China-Pakistan boundary agreement signed in March 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq. km of Indian territory in PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) to China, the Indian foreign ministry says.
While the India-China boundary has been largely calm, thanks to pacts signed in 1993, 1996 and 2005, both sides frequently accuse the other of incursions. One such incursion in April took a serious turn when Chinese soldiers intruded some 20km inside Indian territory leading to a three-week stand-off between the neighbours and threatening to derail a visit in May by China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, who was installed last year. But the situation was resolved and Li’s visit went ahead. During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to China in October, the two countries also signed a border defence mechanism agreement to ensure that potentially volatile situations are defused quickly.
“The special representatives agreed that a strong and expanding India-China partnership bodes well for peace and stability in the region and the world," Akbaruddin said, adding later “they discussed and agreed that peace and tranquility is a corner stone of an expanding India-China relationship".
Both countries will be holding their annual defence dialogue on 24 February, Akbaruddin said, adding that India and China have also sought the early implementation of the border defence cooperation pact to prevent border tensions from affecting ties.
“These measures augur well for building the habit of regular discussions between the two sides which will enhance trust and understanding," an Indian statement on the talks said.
According to people familiar with the developments, China is keen to avoid situations like the Depsang incident that the Chinese administration understands will mar relations. “They are also keen to avoid such incidents," one of the people cited above said.
According to R.N Das, a China expert at the New Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses think tank, “given the discussions are confidential in nature, we don’t know what has actually transpired".
“What you need is strong poltical will (on both sides) to settle the border issue" which is linked to nationalist feelings on the both sides, Das said.
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