External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in an interaction with the media after marathon talks with her counterpart, Wang Yi, said on Sunday that the Chinese side endorsed the Indian perception that differences between the two countries on the alignment of their territorial boundaries would not be handed over to the next generation.
She acknowledged that the leadership in both countries had the “political will to think out of the box” to find a solution to the problem that had triggered the 1962 war.
India’s Special Representative on the boundary issue, Ajit Doval, will be arriving in China ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit for detailed talks with his Chinese interlocutors on this subject, she said.
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During talks, both sides concluded the “exchange of notes” on the new alternative route for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage through the motorable Nathu La pass in Sikkim. The journey time from the Nathu La pass will be reduced to 12 days, compared to the 22 days it takes to complete the arduous journey through the Lipu Lekh pass in Uttarakhand. which includes a nearly 60 km challenging trek.
Five batches of 50 persons each will commence the journey in June from the new route, Ms. Swaraj said.
Asked to comment on India’s position on participation in the China-proposed 21st century Maritime Silk Road (MSR), Ms. Swaraj said that instead of a blanket commitment, India’s participation in the project was “synergy-based.”
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Diplomatic sources told The Hindu that India, as of now, was willing to participate in specific segments of the MSR, including the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor. The BCIM would link Kolkata, with Kunming via Chittagong in Bangladesh, and Mandalay in Myanmar. Ms. Swaraj had, on her way to Beijing on Sunday, stopped over in Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan province that shares common borders with three ASEAN countries — Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.