Vientiane, November 30
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao here today that the complex boundary issue between the two countries should be dealt with “realistically” after taking into account the existing “ground realities”.
In their first interface here today on the margins of the 10th Asean Summit and the third India-Asean summit, the two leaders underlined the need for “political will and mutual accommodation” in resolving this vexed problem without putting the brakes on taking forward the economic cooperation which had the potential of touching 100 billion dollars in bilateral trade in the assessment of the Chinese.
Dr Singh’s allusion to “ground realities” was an oblique reference to China’s occupation of Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh and any expansionist designs that Beijing might have in the country’s Northeast.
The “guiding principles” for resolving the boundary dispute will be finalised before Mr Wen’s visit to India in March next year which the Chinese Prime Minister categorised as the “most important agenda” in his calendar for 2005.
Even though India had no anxiety about Sikkim’s status, Mr Wen assured Dr Singh that China acknowledged Sikkim as an integral part of India. “A decision has already been taken by Beijing and we will certainly take all the steps necessary and implement it gradually,” he told Dr Singh at their first high level interface after the Congress-led UPA government assumed office in May in New Delhi. China has already removed Sikkim from its country map.
Tibet did not figure in the Singh-Wen discussion lasting 40 minutes, observed National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit, who is also the government’s special representative for the border talks with China, while briefing mediapersons. He also stressed that there was no “mutual paranoia” like Pakistan.
Mr Dixit made it clear that there was no reference to Pakistan in any of the bilaterals that Dr Singh has had with various leaders on the sidelines of the Asean summit over the last three days.
Mr Wen looked at External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh and suggested that we should tell our foreign ministers to work very hard in moving forward on the boundary question. He also shook hands with Mr Dixit and noted that he was acutely aware of the NSA being India’s special representative in the talks on the boundary issue. Four rounds of talks on the boundary issue have been held since the Manmohan Singh government came to power.
The Chinese Prime Minister emphasised that as the two largest countries in the world with a combined population of more than two billion, Beijing and New Delhi coming together politically and economically “has significant importance in regional and global terms.”
“The handshake between you (Dr Singh) and me will catch the attention of the whole world,” Mr Wen added.
He also alluded to too little people-to-people contacts between the two countries. Dr Singh concurred and called for greater people to people contacts. Simultaneously, both leaders felt that business to business contacts and exchanges also need to be increased substantially.
Dr Singh affirmed that regardless of whichever government comes to power in New Delhi, there is continuation and positive orientation in Sino-Indian ties. Mr Wen stressed that Sino-Indian relations were more than 2000 years old and 99.9 per cent of the times the relations between the two countries had been good barring the 0.1 (point one) per cent aberration.
He recalled he had pointedly brought this to the attention of former Defence Minister George Fernandes who at one point had said that China posed the biggest threat to India militarily. Mr Wen spoke of China’s desire to nurture and deepen the positive relations with India.
Dr Singh said India looked forward to Mr Wen’s visit to India next year which the latter described as his most important agenda in
2005.
