19 January 2007
No progress in India-China border talks
(The Hindu) Indian and Chinese Special Representatives, M K Narayanan and Dai Bingguo, concluded their ninth round of discussions on the Sino-Indian border question, an official statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said. "The two Special Representatives continued their discussions on a framework for the boundary settlement on the basis of the [April 2005] Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles. The talks were held in an open, friendly, cooperative and constructive atmosphere", the statement said. There has been little progress in overcoming deep differences over their 3,500 km frontier, despite several rounds of talks over the past decade. India disputes Chinese rule over 38,000 square km of land on the Tibetan plateau, seized by China in 1962. For its part, China does not recognise the state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of India and claims its mountainous district of Tawang once belonged to Tibet. "Both sides agreed to hold the next round of talks between the Special Representatives in China at a mutually convenient time, which will be decided through (...) diplomatic channel[s]", the statement added.