Opinion - Editorials   

A mature relationship

Thursday's meeting in Berlin between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Hu Jintao of China underscores a key principle that has served the bilateral relationship well ever since the once-estranged neighbours began talking to each other again at the highest level nearly two decades ago. This is the principle of not allowing the boundary question to come in the way of the deepening of relations at every level. When India and China decided in 2003 to accelerate the process of finding a solution to their border dispute by appointing Special Representatives, there was always a danger that this political acceleration could produce friction in other areas. For, though the purpose of the SRs' dialogue is precisely to chart a mutually acceptable course, it is obvious that each side would use the mechanism to press for validation of its own territorial claims. This is precisely what China has been doing through various statements, both public and private, and there is nothing surprising about it. The latest example of this is the remark the Chinese Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi, reportedly made to External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee that the presence of settled populations in regions under dispute would not affect Chinese claims to these regions. This statement would appear to contradict one of the key principles for solving the boundary question agreed to by the SRs in 2005. The next time India's SR, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, meets his Chinese counterpart, Dai Binguo, clearing the air on this matter is likely to be a top priority.

In this context, Prime Minister Singh and President Hu did well to not burden their important bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G8 with issues that the SRs are perfectly capable of discussing and resolving themselves. The aim of politically empowered Special Representatives is precisely to free the two principals from the burden of direct negotiations and allow them to pay attention to the bilateral relationship. Trade between the two neighbours is booming and there is an ambitious target of $40 billion by 2010 that both countries need to meet. On the regional and global stage too, India and China have important business to transact. As two of the fastest growing economies in the world, both countries find themselves under pressure to make a disproportionately greater effort at cutting carbon emissions, even though the United States, Europe, and Japan — with their unsustainable lifestyles — account for the lion's share of greenhouse gas emissions. Evolving common positions on this and other issues of global concern is another area where India and China need to cooperate. The boundary question can and must be settled in a mutually acceptable manner. But in the meantime, the current upswing in relations must not be allowed to flag.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

A mature relationship
A compromise in Goa
Nuclear deal: on the brink of disaster
G8 and prescriptions for emerging economies
The west must accept there is no military solution
Corrections and Clarifications
Nothing strange
New front
Gujjar agitation
Helmet rule

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu