China, India agree to work on border spat
Seeks fair solution:
THAILAND: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed with his Indian
counterpart Saturday to work towards narrowing differences on
long-simmering border issues between the two nations, state media
reported.
Wen reached the agreement with Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of a
regional summit in Thailand grouping the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other countries, the official Xinhua
news agency said.
Beijing had voiced opposition to a recent visit by Singh to Arunachal
Pradesh, an Indian border state at the core of the dispute, and to a
planned visit there next month by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan
spiritual leader.
"The two sides agreed to continue talks, with the aim of
incrementally removing the barriers to a solution that was fair and
acceptable to both sides," the report said.
Wen and Singh also agreed they would try to ensure peace and
stability in the disputed border area, saying this would be conducive to
resolving border issues and furthering bilateral cooperation, according
to Xinhua.
Regional giants China and India, which together contain more than one
third of the world's population, have recently traded jabs over these
territorial issues.
The two nations fought a border war in 1962 in which Chinese troops
advanced deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicted heavy casualties on
Indian forces. India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometres
(14,700 square miles) of its Himalayan territory, while Beijing claims
all of Arunachal Pradesh, which covers 90,000 square kilometres.
Indian officials would not confirm an agreement with China following
the Xinhua report.
They said earlier that territorial matters were not discussed during
their 45-minute meeting in the Thai resort of Hua Hin.
Hua Hin, Sunday, AFP |
