PM arrives in Thailand, will meet with Chinese counterpart today
merisarkar news service
New Delhi, October 23, 2009
The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will meet his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on Saturday morning on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit at Hua Hin in Thailand. It will be their first meeting after relations between India and China took a beating in the past one month over accusations and counter-accusations on boundary question and reported Chinese incursions into Indian Territory.
Beijing recently opposed Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, and also made its reservations known about the proposed November visit of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to the state.
India on its part has consistently maintained that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and has made it clear that the Tibetan leader, who has been living in exile in Dharamsala for nearly five decades, has right to go anywhere in the country.
New Delhi has also criticized Beijing's decision to undertake projects in Pak-occupied Kashmir, saying this will impact negatively on India-China relations.
Outcome of the meeting between the two Prime Ministers are keenly awaited by the diplomats around the world.
The meeting between the two leaders will be followed by bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Bangalore on 27th of this month on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of India, China and Russia.
