India, China sign landmark treaty

BEIJIN, Friday (AFP) - China and India signed a landmark agreement on developing a joint strategy to secure global energy assets for the world's two biggest nations.

Indian Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar inked the "Memorandum for Enhancing Cooperation in the Field of Oil and Natural Gas" with China's economic planning chief Ma Kai, the minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"Both China and India recognize that unbridled rivalry between them only results in the seller of the assets being benefited irrespective of which of the two countries wins the bid," Aiyar told reporters.

"Therefore it does make sense ... to have circumstances in which India and China march shoulder to shoulder."

He added: "I don't think it is necessary for either India or China to purchase its energy security at the expense of the other."

Such cooperation would be subject to information sharing between governments and companies that could facilitate later commercial decisions, Aiyar said.

The agreement calls for the establishment of a joint committee to monitor implementation and facilitate dialogue and information sharing not only in purchasing energy but in "the full spectrum of the hydrocarbon chain," he said.