India, China should shun competitive approach: Krishna

K J M Varma

Beijing, Apr 6 (PTI) India and China should show
"maturity" in managing their differences, including the vexed
boundary dispute, and avoid viewing each other as competitors,
External Affairs Minister of India S M Krishna said on
Tuesday, arguing that strong Sino-India ties would have global
consequences.

Presenting an upbeat picture of Sino-Indian ties, which
saw a bitter war of words over Arunachal Pradesh last year,
Krishna said the bilateral issues are "under total control"
and the two countries have evolved a mechanism to find a
solution to issues like boundary demarcation.
Advocating a patient approach to resolve the longstanding
boundary dispute, Krishna said "the true test of our maturity"
lies in the way they manage their problems.
"We have to accept that there will be outstanding issues
between the two countries even as our relationship forges
ahead. This is in the very nature of global politics and we
should not get discouraged as a result," he said in his
address at a prominent think-tank here.
He said as rising powers, India and China are often
projected to have a "competitive relationship" but it depends
on the two neighbours to craft out their own course.
"In the final analysis, we all are what we want to be. It
is upto us to disprove such scenarios, not through platitudes
and wishful thinking, but by concrete examples of
cooperation," he said.
On his maiden visit to China, Krishna said the effective
cooperation forged by the two countries on climate
negotiations in Copenhagen should be extended to other global
issues, including fighting terrorism.
"A strong and stable relationship between India and China
has consequences for the entire world. Because we are
different, our divergences are often exaggerated. If truth be
told, there are vested interests at work too.
"India and China must not just cooperate; they must be
seen to be doing so by the rest of the world," he said
pointing out that their cooperation at Copenhagen had
decisively sent out a message to the world that "here are two
developing economies who are coming together for the purpose
of making the world a better place".
"India and China have only begun to impact seriously on
the world. Just as we advanced de-colonisation and
independence movements in the fifties, today we are striving
to rewrite the rules of the world a little more in our
favour," he said.
In his speech, Krishna said the bilateral cooperation
forged by the two countries specially on climate change
negotiations should be extended to the issue "concerning the
instability in our neighbourhood" and to face the challenges
in the "immediate periphery" of the two countries.

Krishna said for both India and China stability at home
stands in sharp contrast to extreme instability in "our shared
neighbourhood" and they cannot afford to remain "passive
spectators".
Without directly referring to Pakistan, Krishna said: "As
pluralistic societies, we are threatened by political
ideologies that are based on narrow loyalties, often justified
by distorting religious beliefs".
Krishna said states that use narrow ideologies "as
instruments to advance their political interests find
themselves consumed by these very destructive ideas... It is
critical for our future that we cooperate actively in meeting
common challenges".
He said Sino-India ties were never a zero sum game and it
was all the more important now to take an "enlightened and
long term view of our self-interests".
Contending that as developing countries, China and India
found their interests converging on several global issues and
in creating a more contemporary order, he said: "the two
countries can advance their respective interests much better
through active cooperation".
On the boundary issue, he said the special
representatives of the two countries have had 13 meetings so
far since the mechanism was established in 2003.
"It is going to be a time consuming affair and one has to
be patient to deal with it. The special representatives are
aware of their responsibilities and we hope a mutually
acceptable solution can be arrived at," he said.
"Even on an issue like the unresolved boundary question
that is often the subject of media speculation, it is always
not appreciated that considerable progress has actually been
made," he said.
The issue of special visas on a separate piece of paper
to residents of Jammu and Kashmir and of projects undertaken
by China in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), would figure in
talks with Chinese leaders, he said replying to a question.
He also said the Indian military was not competing with
China in modernising its armed forces, and the Indian army
just has the "right size" to defend the territory.
"We do not believe in competition with any other country
so far our armed forces are concerned... That is what we need
and will pursue that," he said replying to a question.
Krishna, who kick started his four-day visit to China
today, sought China's backing for a permanent UNSC seat for
India, calling on Beijing to "review" its policies on UN
reform to "welcome" its neighbour to the core group of the
world body.
Ahead of his talks with the Chinese leadership, Krishna
also sought China's support for the convention against
terrorism proposed by India at the UN, and said all nations
should join hands to thwart the evil designs of terrorists.
PTI KJV
AHM