Hua Hin (Thailand) Archive

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – India and China Saturday 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.

The Indian and Chinese leaders met on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia summits in this Thai resort.

Ravi said the Wen-Manmohan talks were held ‘in a warm and friendly atmosphere’.

Wen underlined that India and China, which fought a border war in 1962 and still claim each other’s territory, should maintain peace and strengthen bilateral relationship.

He also concurred with Manmohan Singh’s assessment that ‘our relations should be properly handled through discussions and should not become impediments in bilateral relationship’.

Wen, who congratulated Manmohan Singh on his re-election as prime minister, added: ‘We want to have a healthy and steady relationship with India.’

Manmohan Singh and Wen shook hands warmly at the start of their meeting, their first since they met in New York in October last year. ‘I am excited to see you,’ Manmohan Singh told Wen.

Hailing 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, the Indian prime minister said the Chinese people have had a number of achievements ‘and we share their sense of accomplishment’.

Saturday’s meeting has not resolved the dispute over Arunachal Pradesh, which has become a bone of contention, and China’s bitter objection to the planned November visit to the state by the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India in self-exile since 1959.

Both Beijing and the official Chinese media have in recent times taken an unusually aggressive stance over Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi has in turn criticised Beijing’s decision to undertake projects in Pakistani Kashmir, saying this would impact negatively on India-China relations. The Chinese military has also been accused of foraying into Indian border areas. This has been denied by Beijing.

Earlier Saturday, an Indian official said there was political consensus in India on building better relations with China. But this had to be based on mutual self-respect, he emphasised.

Manmohan Singh has a packed programme Saturday and Sunday.

Besides taking part in the seventh summit between India and the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Saturday and at the fourth East Asia Summit Sunday involving the ASEAN and six other countries, the prime minister will hold a string of bilateral meetings with leaders from the region.

He will hold discussions with the prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand later Saturday. Sunday’s bilateral meetings will include those with the prime ministers of Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Officials of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met here Saturday to boost economic cooperation between the two sides.

‘China has become an indispensable pillar of political and economic stability in this region,’ Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said at the meeting.

He said China’s friendly relations with its neighbouring countries have promoted regional cooperation and contributed to the development of a world community, Xinhua reported.

China is ASEAN’s fourth largest trading and investment partner. Its trade with ASEAN accounted for 10.6 percent of the bloc’s total trade in 2008.

The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA), to be launched next year, will be the world’s largest with a combined population of 1.9 billion, and the world’s third largest in terms of trade volume.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao attended the meeting who arrived here late Friday to participate in a series of meeting related to the ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh of India and Wen Jiabao of China agreed Saturday not to let differences derail relations between the two countries.

At a nearly hour-long meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia summits, the two leaders discussed a variety of issues but did not touch upon two contentious ones: Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as its own, and the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s proposed trip to the northeastern state.

According to N. Ravi, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Manmohan Singh told Wen that there should be better understanding and trust at the political level so that a ‘robust and strong’ relationship is built between India and China.

‘Neither side should allow issues to act as impediment in the growth of our relations,’ Manmohan Singh said.

In his remarks, Wen concurred with Manmohan Singh’s assessment that ‘our relations should be properly handled through discussions and should not become impediments in bilateral relationship’.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao met for nearly an hour here Saturday and agreed to build ‘trust and understanding’ in their bilateral relationship.

The two leaders had ‘good discussions’ and ‘a productive meeting’ at Hotel Dusit Thani, the venue of the Asean and East Asia summits, official sources said.

Wen said: ‘We want to have a healthy and steady relationship with India. I hope we can use this opportunity to exchange our views on all related issues.’

The much awaited meeting was aimed at easing tensions between the two countries centred on their unresolved border dispute. Official sources, however, said Arunachal Pradesh and Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama did not figure in the discussions.

The two countries also agreed to beef up their strategic and cooperative partnership.

Manmohan Singh told Wen: ‘I am excited to see you.’ He said the Chinese people have had a number of achievements ‘and we share their sense of accomplishment’. He said this in the context of the 60th anniversary of the founding of modern China.

Manmohan Singh also recalled his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Russia in June this year.

Earlier, the Chinese premier received Manmohan Singh like an old friend and spoke of the meetings they have had in the past.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – China wants a ‘healthy and steady relationship’ with India, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said Saturday.

Wen made the remarks at the start of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Asean and East Asia summits here.

‘We want to have a healthy and steady relationship with India. I hope we can use this opportunity to exchange our views on all related issues,’ Wen said in his opening remarks.

Manmohan Singh said: ‘I am excited to see you.’ He said Chinese people have had a number of achievements ‘and we share their sense of accomplishment’. He said this in the context of the 60th anniversary of the founding of modern China.

Manmohan Singh also recalled his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Russia in June this year.

Earlier, the Chinese premier received Manmohan Singh like an old friend and spoke of the meetings they have had in the past.

-Indo-Asian News Service

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Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – China wants a ‘healthy and steady relationship’ with India, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said Saturday.

Wen made the remarks at the start of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

Manmohan Singh congratulated Wen on the 60th anniversary of China’s founding and called it an ‘accomplishment’.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh starts a hectic day here Saturday with a much awaited meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao that officials hope would ease tensions between the two countries.

Manmohan Singh and Wen will shake hands at 10.30 a.m. (local time) at Hotel Dusit Thani, where the Asean and East Asia summits are being held, to mark the highest-level contact between India and China since the start of their verbal duels more than a month ago.

Indian officials said the two prime ministers will head their respective delegations at the talks. A separate meeting between the two leaders is not ruled out. ‘Both sides will exchange views on issues of mutual concern,’ China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyao said.

It is not clear how long the Wen-Manmohan meeting will last, but according to the programme of the Indian prime minister his next bilateral is at 11.35 a.m. with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

Assisting the prime minister in his talks with Wen would be Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair and Secretary (East) N. Ravi.

On Friday, in a rebuff to China, New Delhi reiterated that Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was free to travel to any part of India, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since 1959, and that Arunachal Pradesh was an integral part of the country.

China has bitterly opposed the Dalai Lama’s proposed November trip to Arunachal Pradesh, the northeastern Indian state which Beijing claims as its own. China also came out strongly against the visit to Arunachal Pradesh by Manmohan Singh in October, upsetting New Delhi.

The Manmohan Singh-Wen meeting will be their first since they met in New York in October last year. It will also be the highest-level contact between the two countries since relations took a beating during the past one month over accusations and counter-accusations centered over their unresolved border row.

Both Beijing and the official Chinese media have taken an unusually aggressive stance over Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi has also criticized Beijing’s decision to undertake projects in Pakistani Kashmir, saying this would impact negatively on India-China relations. The Chinese military has also been accused of foraying into Indian border areas. This has been denied by Beijing.

An Indian official said there was political consensus in India on building better relations with China. But this had to be based on mutual self-respect. ‘The mood is upbeat,’ one official source said.

Manmohan Singh has a packed programme Saturday and Sunday.

Besides taking part in the seventh summit between India and the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Saturday and at the fourth East Asia Summit Sunday involving the Asean and six other countries, the prime minister will hold a string of bilateral meetings with leaders from the region.

He will also hold discussions with the prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand. Sunday’s bilateral engagements would cover the prime ministers of Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 23 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flew into this Thai resort Friday night to attend the India-ASEAN and East Asia summits, but the high point of his numerous engagements will be a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that will seek to ease tensions between the two Asian neighbours.

The prime minister was accompanied by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair and Secretary (East) N. Ravi. A senior Indian official said Manmohan Singh had a packed programme Saturday and Sunday and that the mood in the Indian camp was ‘upbeat’.

The first engagement Saturday will be delegation-level talks between India and China, headed by the two prime ministers. It is set to begin at 10.30 a.m. at Hotel Dusit Thani, the venue of the two summits that has turned into a fortress.

On the eve of the Manmohan-Wen meeting, New Delhi reiterated that Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was free to visit any part of India, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since 1959, and that Arunachal Pradesh was very much a part of India.

China has bitterly opposed the Dalai Lama’s proposed November trip to Arunachal Pradesh, the northeastern Indian state which Beijing claims as its own. China also came out strongly against the visit to Arunachal Pradesh by Manmohan Singh in October, upsetting New Delhi.

The Manmohan Singh-Wen meeting will be their first since they met in New York in October last year. It will also be the highest-level contact between the two countries since relations took a beating during the past one month over accusations and counter-accusations centered over their unresolved border row.

In an unprecedented phase in India-China relations not seen since 1962 when they fought a war, both Beijing and the official Chinese media have taken an unusually aggressive stance over Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi has also criticized Beijing’s decision to undertake projects in Pakistani Kashmir, saying this would impact negatively on India-China relations. The Chinese military has also been accused of foraying into Indian border areas. This has been denied by Beijing.

An Indian official said there was political consensus in India on building better relations with China. But this had to be based on mutual self-respect.

Manmohan Singh will be a key participant in the seventh summit between India and the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Saturday and at the fourth East Asia Summit Sunday involving the ASEAN nations and six other countries.

Even before he set out from New Delhi, the prime minister set the tone by stating that he planned to discuss several new initiatives to accelerate the wide-ranging cooperation with ASEAN. India-ASEAN trade stood at $48 billion in 2008.

He said the conclusion of the India-ASEAN Trade-in-Goods Agreement in August this year was a major first step in New Delhi’s objective of creating an India-ASEAN Regional Trade and Investment Area.

Manmohan Singh proposes to take up the issues of greater economic integration, people-to-people contacts, agriculture, human resource development, education, science and technology, and information and communications technology when he meets ASEAN leaders separately and collectively.

ASEAN groups together Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The East Asia Summit, he said, would ‘provide an opportunity to discuss regional and international issues of common interest, and future direction for community building and cooperation’.

Besides meeting Wen, Manmohan Singh will hold bilateral meetings with leaders of six other countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Manmohan Singh said that India’s enhanced engagement with the ASEAN was at the heart of its ‘Look East’ policy initiated in 1992.

Manmohan Singh said the East Asian Summit would also discuss Asia’s response to the global economic slowdown, food security, energy security and climate change.

The East Asia Summit brings together the ASEAN countries as well as Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan and South Korea.

The prime minister expressed the hope that ASEAN and other countries of East Asia would endorse the proposal to establish the Nalanda University in Bihar as an international institution of excellence in education.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 23 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flew into this Thai resort Friday night to attend the India-Asean and East Asia summits, but the high point of his engagements will be a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that is expected to ease tensions between the two Asian giants.

Steering as he does one of the fastest growing economies, Manmohan Singh will be a key participant in the seventh summit between India and the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Saturday and also at the fourth East Asia Summit Sunday that involves the Asean nations and six other countries.

Even before he set out from New Delhi, the prime minister set the tone for his programmes by stating that he planned to discuss with Asean leaders several new initiatives to accelerate the wide-ranging cooperation with the grouping. India-Asean trade stood at $48 billion in 2008 and is expected to zoom.

He said the conclusion of the India-Asean Trade-in-Goods Agreement in August this year was a major first step in New Delhi’s objective of creating an India-Asean Regional Trade and Investment Area.

Manmohan Singh proposes to take up the issues of greater economic integration, people-to-people contacts, agriculture, human resource development, education, science and technology, and information and communications technology when he meets Asean leaders separately and collectively.

Asean groups together Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The East Asia Summit, he said, would ‘provide an opportunity to discuss regional and international issues of common interest, and future direction for community building and cooperation’.

But all eyes are on the meeting between Manmohan Singh and Wen Saturday morning – the first high-level contact between the two most populous countries since relations took a beating during the past one month or so over accusations and counter-accusations mainly centered over their unresolved border dispute.

In an unprecedented phase in India-China relations not seen since 1962 when they fought a war, both Beijing and the official Chinese media have taken an unusually aggressive stance over Arunachal Pradesh, the northeastern Indian state which China claims as its own.

China has criticized Manmohan Singh for visiting Arunachal Pradesh last month and has come out bitterly against the planned November trip to the state by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who lives in self-imposed exile in India.

New Delhi has also criticized Beijing’s decision to undertake projects in Pakistani Kashmir, saying this would impact negatively on India-China relations. The Chinese military has also been accused of foraying into Indian border areas. This has been denied by Beijing.

Besides meeting Wen, Manmohan Singh will hold bilateral meetings with leaders of six other countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Manmohan Singh said that India’s enhanced engagement with the Asean was at the heart of its ‘Look East’ policy initiated in 1992.

Manmohan Singh said that the East Asian Summit would also discuss Asia’s response to the global economic slowdown, food security, energy security and climate change will be important issues of discussion.

The East Asia Summit brings together the Asean countries as well as Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan and South Korea.

The prime minister expressed the hope that Asean and other countries of East Asia would endorse the proposal to establish the Nalanda University in Bihar as an international institution of excellence in education.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 23 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived here Friday night to attend the seventh India-ASEAN Summit and the fourth East Asia Summit here during the weekend.

The summit meeting between India and the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is due to be held Saturday. The East Asia Summit involving the ASEAN nations and six other countries including India will follow Sunday.

Manmohan Singh will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of seven countries including his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao.