External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Wednesday acknowledged that China had never allowed its territory to be used by forces hostile to India.
“China wants to have good ties and I have often said India would like to have very friendly relations with China. Our effort is to take this relationship to the level of partnership. Hence there is goodwill on both sides and it augurs well,” he said.
Mr. Krishna was replying to questions on the outcome of his two-day meeting with his Russian and Chinese counterparts at a “meet-the-press” organised by the Press Club of Bangalore.
He said organisations based in Pakistan were “breeding terror” against India, and termed “ridiculous” the allegation by the Pakistan Foreign Minister that India was supporting terror attacks in several parts of that country.
On the boundary issue with China, he noted that the Special Representatives appointed by both countries had met 13 times, and suggested that its resolution would be a “time consuming process” because of the long boundary.
“We have to have lots of patience. I would like to assert that the India-China border is one of the most peaceful and tranquil one though it is not delineated. Because of this, if there are incursions, there is a mechanism and things are sorted out at the field level.”
Mr. Krishna said the Dalai Lama, as a guest of India, was free to go wherever he wants. “The only restriction on the Dalai Lama is that he should not indulge in politics or boundary related questions.”
On reports of construction of a dam by China across the Brahmaputra, he said “It was conveyed to us by our own experts that no such thing is happening there.”
About the issuance of visa to Indians from Jammu and Kashmir by China on a separate slip, instead of on the passport, Mr. Krishna said he told his Chinese counterpart that it should be uniform for all Indians.
Preliminary reports on the two attacks on the Indian Embassy in Kabul suggested that the perpetrators were “outsiders and not those who live in Afghanistan.”
On the Mumbai attacks, Mr. Krishna said India had provided six dossiers to Pakistan on the involvement of its nationals and Islamabad should now pursue the leads and bring them to justice.
