By IANS,
New Delhi: The Sino-Indian equation was complex and the hardest to predict but it was a “full spectrum” relationship, officials said Thursday, striking an upbeat note as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prepared to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Bali.
“We have a full spectrum relationship with China that we didn’t have before,” an official source said while candidly admitting: “You have one of the most complex relationships in the world and the hardest to predict.”
Commenting on the often uneasy truce at the border, official sources said that there was improved capability on both sides but what mattered was the “balance”.
“In the last 10 years, Chinese activity has consistently improved… We are the mirror image of each other,” an official source said, adding that the last death on the “by and large peaceful” border was in October 1975.
In his viewpoint, Chinese intrusions were actually down but their capabilities were much higher.
As the Indian and Chinese leaders prepare to meet in Bali on the sideline of the India-Asean and East Asia summits amid unresolved tensions, it has been stressed that their differences were only a part of a much bigger relationship.
This includes the phenomenal growth in business with bilateral trade at over $60 billion. In the last seven months, it is learnt, trade had grown by 17 percent.
There is also congruence of approach in global issues such as climate change.
In the backdrop of global economic troubles, India needs the Chinese market just as Beijing needs the Indian market. Both countries are amongst the fastest growing in the world.
On the Chinese claim on South China sea, where China has voiced concern over India’s deal with Vietnam for oil exploration, New Delhi has expressed backing for navigation and rights of passage.
“There is a law of the sea. China accepted the law of the sea. If there are differences, there is a committee to decide whose water it is,” a source said.