Purpose of China, Russia visits achieved, says PM

On Board PM's Special Aircraft: India is “reasonably satisfied” that China is as serious as New Delhi in ensuring peace and tranquility on the border, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today asserting that the purpose of his two-nation tour has been served and results have been achieved.A day after India and China reached a comprehensive agreement to avoid tensions on the 4000-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC), Singh said there is a commitment on the part of both the countries that peace and tranquility on the border is a pre-requisite for progress in bilateral relationship. “So there is recognition and on the whole there has been peace and tranquility on the India-China border. So, I am reasonably satisfied that the Chinese leadership is as serious as we are in ensuring peace and tranquility on the India-China border,” he told reporters accompanying on his return home from a trip to Russia and China. The Prime Minister was asked whether India stands a chance of resolving the boundary question with China given the new agreement and the experience of dealing with Pakistan. He said both these visits have served their purpose and he was satisfied with the results that India have been able to secure both in Russia and China. Singh said his visit to China was to follow up on the process of getting to know the new Chinese leadership better. “China is our largest neighbor, a significant economic partner and a country with increasing global presence. While we have our differences, there are many areas, bilateral, regional, and multilateral, where cooperation among us is to our mutual benefit. It is only through a process of intense engagement that we will be able to move forward in all areas,” he said.Asked about the agreement on trans-border rivers with China and what impact he expected to have in the north-east which he represents in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said because he represented the region he was emphatic that cooperation between China and India on the trans-border river system should move forward.“I have been discussing this earlier also with the Chinese leadership. I raised this issue again and there is incremental progress. They have agreed to supply data for more number of days. Also they have recognised that the behaviour of the trans-border river system is of interest to all riparian states. So our concerns have been put on the table. I hope there will be progress in years to continue,” he said. Asked about the mention of the problem of terrorism, extremism, and radicalism emanating from the region as a matter of concern and how Russia and China saw them, Singh said both in Russia and China he found growing recognition that terrorism was a threat to all the countries of the region. They found that terrorism and extremism were both enemies of progress and that they must work together, pool intelligence and information system to deal with this menace. Asked about the proposed liberalised visa regime with China, the Prime Minister said that is an aspiration that both the countries have and hoped that they can find a workable mechanism to realise this goal.