Krishna stresses ties with Beijing
- Source: Global Times
- [01:47 April 07 2010]
- Comments
Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna
By Sun Wei
China and India can work together on "key challenges that will define the 21st century," India's minister for external affairs said Tuesday in Beijing.
"India and China must not just cooperate. They must be seen to be doing so by the rest of the world," Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna said on the second day of his first visit to Beijing since taking the foreign minister post in May.
He was speaking at the China Institute of International Studies. He also met his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, later that day.
Because "we are different, our divergences are often exaggerated," Krishna said, citing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as saying that "the world is large enough to accommodate the aspirations of both countries."
The minister kicked off Tuesday evening's celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China at the Forbidden City Concert Hall.
He will meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today.
As to the unresolved boundary question, on which little progress has been made, Krishna said, "The true test of our maturity is how well we handle our problems."
"The Peace and Tranquility Agreement of 1993, the Confidence Building Measures of 1996 and the Guiding Principles and Political Parameters of 2005 have all demonstrated that we have the ability to increase convergence and deepen mutual understanding on this complex issue through patient negotiation," he added.
"A breakthrough on the boundary talks depends on whether both sides are prepared to make adjustments," Hu Shisheng, a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), told the Global Times.
"But beyond divergence and competition, the strategic partnership of the two rising economies will not digress," Hu said, adding that the 60th anniver-sary will set off a new period of cooperation between the two sides on global issues.
Ma Jiali, a senior researcher on South Asia with CICIR, told the Global Times at the ceremony that the positive tone taken by Krishna suggested that the bilateral relationship is developing in a sustainable, healthy way.
Although the climate is getting warmer on both sides of the Himalayas, the irritants remain. Reuters Tuesday cited a report as claiming that a cyber-espionage group based in southwest China stole documents from India's Ministry of Defence and e-mails from the Dalai Lama's office.
The report, called "Shadows in the Cloud," was released by a group of Canadian researchers based at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs.
"I don't know what evidence these people have, or what their motives are," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in response, adding that China could investigate if it were provided with evidence.
"Our policy is very clear: We resolutely oppose all Internet crime, including hacking," Jiang said.
Reuters also quoted Sitanshu Kar, spokesman for India's Ministry of Defence, as saying, "We have heard about the hacking report, and the concerned department is looking into the case."
Agencies contributed to this story
