M A I N   N E W S

border row
India, China begin talks
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

Joint mechanism on cards

n The talks will end on January 17 with the two sides signing an agremeent on joint mechanism on the border issue n The mechanism will facilitate real-time contact between the foreign offices of the two countries in case of intrusions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) n It is aimed at preventing flare-ups or misunderstandings

New Delhi, January 16
Amid hopes of an improvement in bilateral ties, the Special Representatives (SRs) of India and China today began the 15th round of talks on the long-standing border dispute between the two countries.

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon led the Indian side at the talks while the Chinese delegation was headed by State Councillor Dai Bingguo. The two sides are understood to have held discussions on a wide range of issues, conveying their respective concerns to each other.

The talks will end tomorrow with the sides signing an agremeent on joint mechanism on the border issue.

The mechanism will facilitate real-time contact between the foreign offices of the two countries in case of intrusions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It is aimed at preventing flare-ups or misunderstandings.

The talks were scheduled for November last year but were postponed after India refused to relent to Chinese objections to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's participation in a global Buddhist conclave in Delhi.

Ahead of the talks, Dai, said to be close to Chinese President Hu Jintao, struck an optimistic note on the future of India-China relations, rejecting the theory of a rivalry between the two countries.

"While working hard to develop itself, China is fully committed to developing long-term friendship and cooperation with India. It is our genuine hope that India will enjoy prosperity and its people, happiness," Dai said in an article.

"There does not exist such a thing as China's attempt to attack India or suppress India's development. China will remain committed to the path of peaceful development," he said.

Underlining the need for closer cooperation between India and China, Dai said: "We speak with one voice and enjoy increasingly closer coordination and collaboration in multilateral mechanisms and in tackling global challenges."

"What we face is a golden period to grow China-India relations. The world has enough space for China and India to achieve common development, as there are so many areas for us to work together," he said. Dai's comments came against the backdrop of recent unsavoury developments in bilateral ties. China recently denied visa to an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer who was to be a member of the Indian military delegation to China on grounds that he was from Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian state claimed by China. This led to India scaling down its delegation from the original 30 members to 15.