India-China:New Relationship?

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Time to restructure India-China relations : Fernandes

20.30 IST 29th Jan 2003

 

By IndiaExpress Bureau

 

Defence Minister George Fernandes on Wednesday emphasized the need to

‘rearrange’ India-China relations, given the ground realities.

 

Mr. Fernandes, who is scheduled to visit China soon, also said Beijing and New

Delhi were not a threat to each other.

 

The two countries, he said, were working on the complex boundary issue in a

"mature and Asian civilization manner".

 

The Defence Minister’s significant observations came during his address to the

concluding session of the three-day seminar on "Asian Security and China in the

period 2003-2010", organized by Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis.

 

He said China and India had now acquired a certain degree of consensual

mutuality on the vexed border problem.

 

"We have our differences but we are working on them, though the pace has been

referred to as glacial," Mr. Fernandes said announcing that he would soon

undertake a visit to China. His tour is likely to be followed by an official

visit by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

 

China is a regional heavyweight, Fernandes said, adding that as a bigger power,

"we expect China will also discharge its responsibility and accommodate our

interests and reciprocate the spirit in which we are conscious of Beijing's

sensitivity on certain issues".

 

He pointed out that whenever violations between India and its immediate

neighbors came up, New Delhi was painted as larger and bigger power. Therefore,

it had a special responsibility to assuage the concerns of its neighbors, said

the Minister.

 

In a significant remark, for the first time, Mr. Fernandes described the 1962

Sino-Indian conflict as a "clash".

 

He also sought to shrug off his portrayal as a "China-baiter". It was erroneous

to do so, he contended.

 

 

 

 

 

Indian DM: China, India not Threat to Each Other

Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes Wednesday said Beijing and

New Delhi were not a threat to each other and that the time had come

to "rearrange" mutual ties keeping in view the ground realities.

 

Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes Wednesday said Beijing and

New Delhi were not a threat to each other and that the time had come

to "rearrange" mutual ties keeping in view the ground realities.

 

Addressing the concluding session of the three-day seminar on Asian

Security and China, organized by the Institute of Defense Studies and

Analysis, he said that the two countries were working on the complex

boundary issue in a "mature and Asian civilization manner."

 

He said China and India had now acquired a certain degree of

consensual mutuality on the vexed border problem.

 

"We have our differences, but we are working on them -- though the

pace has been referred to as glacial," the Defense Minister added.

 

No Threat Between China and India

 

Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes Wednesday said Beijing and

New Delhi were not a threat to each other and that the time had come

to "rearrange" mutual ties keeping in view the ground realities.

 

Addressing the concluding session of the three-day seminar on Asian

Security and China, organized by the Institute of Defense Studies and

Analysis, he said that the two countries were working on the complex

boundary issue in a "mature and Asian civilization manner."

 

 

He said China and India had now acquired a certain degree of

consensual mutuality on the vexed border problem.

 

 

"We have our differences, but we are working on them -- though the

pace has been referred to as glacial," the Defense Minister added.

 

 

(People's Daily January 30, 2003)

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 28, 2003

India, China to Move Ahead in Their Ties: Indian FM

India's Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha on Monday said New Delhi and Beijing had

"shown the wisdom to move ahead in their bilateral relations even as contentious

issues such as the border dispute are separately addressed."

 

 

 

 

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India's Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha on Monday said New Delhi and Beijing had

"shown the wisdom to move ahead in their bilateral relations even as contentious

issues such as the border dispute are separately addressed."

 

Inaugurating an international conference on Asian security and China, he said,

"Economic integration and an overall improvement in relations has not been held

hostage to differences over specific issues, however important those issues be."

 

Sinha refuted the argument by "some analysts" that there was a "battle of

supremacy" between India and China.

 

"Let me debunk these theories completely and state with full conviction that

India neither pursues nor makes policy towards China based on the belief that

conflict between the two is inevitable," he told the three-day international

conference organized by the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

 

The foreign minister said New Delhi's approach to relations with Beijing "is and

will remain forward-looking and infused with a sense of optimism."

 

"India's policies will not be based on fear of Chinese power nor envy of China's

economic achievements. They will be based on the conviction that a prosperous

India is inevitable. So is a strong and prosperous China," Sinha said.

 

It was logical, reasonable and in the interests of both nations for them to

address the differences and build on what was common, he added.

 

"Further, both India and China are too large and too strong to be contained or

cowed down by any country, including each other," he said.

 

Sino-Indian trade grew rapidly in the past decade from about 247 million US

dollars in 1991 to 4.3 billion dollars last year, he noted.

 

On bilateral cooperation, he said that the two nations had decided to move ahead

in diverse areas while at the same time seeking to resolve differences "through

dialogue and peaceful means".

 

IDSA Director K. Santhanam said China was important to Asia's security in the

next decade. Many of China's experiences in the past two decades would be

valuable for the region's development.