External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, legislation passed recently by Parliament on Jammu and Kashmir is aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economic development of the State. He said the issue is related to changes in a temporary provision of the Constitution of India and was the sole prerogative of the country.
During his bilateral meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, Mr. Jaishankar said, there was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control with China.
According to an official release, Mr. Jaishankar said, India was not raising any additional territorial claims and Chinese concerns in this regard were therefore misplaced. He also conveyed that so far as the India China boundary question is concerned, the two sides had agreed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the Boundary Question on the basis of the 2005 Political Parameters and Guiding Principles.
The External Affairs Minister also stressed that the future of the India-China relationship will depend on mutual sensitivity to each other’s core concerns. He said it is natural that there would be issues in the ties and properly managing differences is therefore vital.
The official release said, the two countries agreed that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for smooth development of relations. For this, the two armed forces had enhanced communication and were implementing various confidence-building measures. The economic relationship had seen some progress but the increasing trade deficit was a matter of concern.
Both the leaders also discussed the full gamut of issues relating to the international situation, regional aspects and the bilateral relations including the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India for the 2nd Informal Summit later this year.
