rediff.com: China blames India for slow progress in border talks: PTI

China has blamed India for scant progress in Sino-Indian border talks and stressed on the need for "mutual accommodation" in protracted parleys on the sensitive issue affecting bilateral ties.

"What is important is that the two sides should have the sincerity and show mutual accommodation instead of one-way accommodation," Chinese assistant foreign minister Wang Yi said in an interview to a group of visiting Indian journalists.

"Of course in the negotiation process for the border areas, we need to have the two sides approach each other instead of one party approaching," he said, blaming India for scant progress in border talks.

On China's position on the vexed Sino-Indian border negotiations, Wang said that it would be "difficult if some people in India believed that the Indian position should be adhered to strictly without taking into account the Chinese position at all."

Wang claimed that the Chinese side had been making specific proposals to India since 1996 to resolve the boundary issue and build mutual trust and confidence.

"The response of the Indian side is always that it is too early for us to have such measures like the delineation of the border," Wang said.

"It is our hope that the Indian side could agree to have common efforts of building up mutual trust in the military field in the area of the line of actual control," he said.

Denying that China was not interested in settling the border issue with India, Wang said the Chinese attitude towards resolving the issue has always been positive.

"There is some misunderstanding on this issue," he said, while detailing Chinese initiatives.

He said that it was as early as 1980s that Chinese leaders had taken the initiative to approach Indian leaders. In 1993, at the Chinese initiative, the two countries signed an agreement for maintenance of peace and stability in the border area.

In 1996, on the eve of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's state visit to India, China and India agreed to build confidence in the military field along the line of actual control, Wang said, adding that China was "very active and positive on those efforts".

"There is no change on that point," he said, adding, "Of course, such a process will take time. We are willing to work together with the Indian side."

Wang also touched on Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan recent visit to India, during which he and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh agreed to step up efforts to clarify the line of actual control issue.

He said China had proposed that the two sides have more than one meeting at the experts level to discuss the boundary issue, adding, "I am very glad that the Indian side has accepted this proposal. So I hope the clarification process will be faster and faster."

India says China is illegally occupying 43,180 square km of Jammu and Kashmir, including 5,180 square km illegally ceded to Beijing by Pakistan under the Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement in 1963. On the other hand, China accuses India of possessing 90,000 square km of Chinese territory.


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