India, China resume stalled border talks

GlobalPost

India and China on Monday resumed border talks that were postponed this November in a falling out over New Delhi's refusal to muzzle the Dalai Lama.

In a somewhat ironic but encouraging twist, China's special representative Dai Bingguo, who was originally scheduled to visit India for talks with India's National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon on November 28, said that the two countries are embarking on a “golden period” of good relations, according to CNN/IBN.

In recent days, both India and China have sought to dispel the air of mutual sniping that marked the relationship this summer and fall – when issues like China's supposed incursions on the disputed border and India's support for the Dalai Lama's participation in a Global Buddhist Congregation organized to coincide with Dai's visit raised hackles on both sides.

We'll see how long that lasts, of course.

But India Today reports that the two countries expect to ink an agreement on a mechanism to resolve “misunderstandings” related to transgressions of the 4,000-kilometer line of actual control. Meanwhile, China has expressed that it's keen to resolve the border dispute in a “peaceful manner,” and find a “mutually acceptable, fair and reasonable solution,” according to the Hindu.

China is keen to resolve in a “peaceful manner” its long-standing boundary dispute with India and wants to ensure that 2012 is a year of cooperation and development between the two sides. “We believe the peaceful development of China and India is an opportunity for both sides and the whole world. With the joint efforts of the two sides, 2012 will be a year of greater and better exchanges and cooperation between China and India,” the paper quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin as saying. “The year 2012 will become a year of cooperation and development.”

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