M A I N   N E W S

Border peace paramount, Delhi tells Beijing
60th anniversary of Panchsheel: India, China, Myanmar come together
DINESH KUMAR
In Beijing

Vice-President Hamid Ansari (C) arrives at the Great Hall of the people in Beijing on Saturday. pti

For border peace and trade India tells China peace and tranquility important for relations to ‘prosper and flower’ Cartographic depiction does not change the situation on the ground. Our position about our territory is well known, says India Violations along LAC and feasibility study on establishing rail link between China and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir among security concerns raised by India

On a day when India, China and Myanmar reaffirmed the continuing relevance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Panchsheel) on its 60th anniversary at a trilateral summit this evening, India strongly conveyed to China that peace and tranquility was important for bilateral relations to “prosper and flower” and that India “expects all outstanding issues to be addressed speedily.”

It also informed China that “the current trade deficit was unsustainable” and asked Beijing to consider opening up further their markets to India.

Briefing the media this evening, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said China had agreed to both these issues when Vice President Hamid Ansari raised them with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a bilateral meeting held shortly before the trilateral summit. She avoided answering a specific question on whether the recent and continuing aggressions and intrusions by the People’s Liberation Army along the Line of Actual Control had been raised, but indicated that by saying “maintenance of peace and tranquility on the border was important”.

“They (the Chinese) agreed”, she replied when asked what China’s specific response had been. “The Vice President conveyed to the Chinese Premier that we expect outstanding issues to be addressed speedily,” she said.

Asked whether India had raised the issue of Beijing’s recent release of a map that depicts Arunachal Pradesh to be part of China, Sujatha Singh said: “All issues of concern were raised.

Cartographic depiction does not change the situation on the ground. Our position about our territory is well known.”

When asked about reports that Beijing was commissioning a feasibility study to establish a rail link between China and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, the foreign secretary indicated that this too had been raised. “These are issues of concern which we raise with China in bilateral forums. I will not go into details”, said Sujatha Singh.

“We also made it clear to them that the current trade deficit was unsustainable. We have asked them to identify products for China to buy at competitive rates and have told them to consider opening up their market for Indian goods,” she said. “There is recognition on both sides that trade deficit is not sustainable. We are working towards better market access and further discussions are expected to be held on Monday.”

Soon after Vice President Ansari met Chinese Premier Li, the Indian Vice President, President Xi Jingping and Myanmar President Thein Sein assembled for an hour-long trilateral summit at the Great Hall of the People located opposite Tiananmen Square, the venue of the June 1989 uprising that was brutally put down. The summit was followed by a banquet.

All three leaders extolled the virtues of the Panchsheel and recounted the historic joint declaration of the Five Principles made by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Premier Zhou Enlai in New Delhi on June 28, 1954, and by Myanmar and China the following day at Yangon (formerly Rangoon). The Five Principles comprise mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, mutual non interference, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence.

While both China and Myanmar were represented by their respective presidents at today’s summit, India was represented by the country’s Vice President instead of the President which seems to indicate New Delhi’s skepticism of China’s commitment to upholding the Panchsheel.

The three leaders recounted the circumstances under which the declaration was made – a time when nations were gaining independence from colonial rule and seeking parity and justice in the then emerging international order.

While otherwise emphasing the timeless relevance of the Panchsheel, Vice President Ansari also used the occasion to refer to bilateral relations. “Our common interests far outweigh our differences… We have to build on our convergences and narrow down our differences’, he said. Significantly Vice President Ansari said India believed in a federation of friendly, interdependent nations but ‘without domination or exploitation’. “It is our duty to revitalize our friendly relations and to promote cooperation as the only way forward towards the realization of our common goals of progress and prosperity for our peoples”, he said.

Myanmar President Thein Sein’s speech was the briefest. He reiterated his country’s commitment to Panchsheel while specifically expressing his country’s satisfaction at resolving the border problem with China.

The longest speech came from President Xi who significantly referred to the peaceful resolution of the border problem with Myanmar, but skirted mentioning the border problem with India. While affirming the relevance of Panchsheel, President Xi put forth a proposal for six principles – upholding sovereign equality, upholding security, enhancing economic development, promoting win-win cooperation, champion inclusiveness and upholding fairness and justice.