India, China avoid Arunachal, vow to build better ties

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (L) shakes hands with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh (R) prior to their talks in the southern Thai resort town of Hua Hin yesterday on the sidelines of the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit. Photo: AFP

India and China yesterday pledged not to let their differences derail bilateral relations as Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao held a much-awaited meeting here amid strained ties.
At a nearly hour-long meeting here, both leaders avoided the most contentious issues - Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims, and the Dalai Lama's proposed November visit to the northeastern state that China opposes - as they discussed ways to build a relationship marred by a lingering border dispute.
"We have reached important consensus on promoting bilateral ties, and I believe that our two countries maintain a good relationship in the future, which conforms with the interests of the two countries," Wen said at the beginning of the talks.
Both Manmohan Singh and Wen agreed that differences between them on a range of issues should not be allowed to act as impediments.
According to N Ravi, Secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry, Manmohan Singh said that both sides should take measures at the political and diplomatic level to foster better understanding and trust "so that our relationship remained strong and robust."
"Neither side should allow differences to act as impediment in the growth of functioning cooperation," he said.