India and China are currently talking to each other on establishing more mechanisms to ensure that the border remains peaceful and tranquil, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said without elaborating.
Speaking at the opening of a seminar on Sino-Indian relations organised by the Observer Research Foundation, a private think tank, Ms Rao indicated that the mechanisms would supplement the existing confidence building measures.
She hoped China would show more sensitivity on core issues that impinge on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, such as China’s role in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and China’s Jammu and Kashmir policy, particularly giving of stapled visas to Indian nationals living in Jammu and Kashmir.
Her remarks come ahead of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India in mid-December. Mr Wen will participate in the closing ceremony of the Festival of China in India, which will bring to a close the calendar of activities organised in both China and India to commemorate the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between them.
The remarks follow external affairs minister S.M. Krishna’s assertion, in a recent meeting with foreign minister Yang Jiechi of China on the sidelines of the Russia-India-China trilateral meeting in China, that China should be sensitive to India’s core issues such as Jammu and Kashmir just as India has been sensitive to China’s concerns over Tibet Autonomous Region and Taiwan.
Ms Rao also hoped the Sino-Indian cooperation will be strengthened on the issue of United Nations (UN) reform and that common ground could be built on India’s quest for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.