New Delhi, April 1 (Inditop.com) National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon Thursday said India and China have found a way to manage their differences over ‘the most complicated and difficult’ boundary dispute and have decided not to allow it to stand in the way of expanding ties in other areas.
‘The two countries have found a modus vivendi to deal with the boundary issue and to manage their different approaches to issues where their peripheries overlap,’ Menon said at a seminar on India-China relations organised by Indian Council for World Affairs.
Menon underlined the need to ‘evolve a detailed framework for the resolution of the boundary dispute in a manner that is feasible to both leaderships.’
Alluding to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to Beijing in 1988, Menon said Indian and Chinese leaders had decided that the difficult and complicated boundary question would be addressed, but would not stand in the way of the expansion of relations in other areas.
Menon’s comments come days before External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna goes to Beijing when the two sides are likely to discuss dates for the 14th round of boundary negotiations between their special representatives.
Menon has taken over from his predecessor M.K. Naryanan as India’s Special Representative on the boundary issue.
Admitting that there are differences on many issues, Menon stressed upon the need for both sides to build on congruences while managing contradictions. ‘Differences in worldview, structure, systems and foreign policy making have not prevented and will not prevent an expanding engagement between India and China,’ he said.
Indian and Chinese leaders Thursday exchanged greetings on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and expressed their optimism about the future development of the relationship for the sake of regional and global peace.
