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| India-Pakistan |
| India moots new "security architecture" with China |
| 2008-06-07 |
| BEIJING — India yesterday said it wants to work with China to ensure peace and stability in Asia and ‘beyond’ by evolving a new ‘security architecture’ and restructuring of UN and other global political and economic institutions to bring then attune with current realities. "An open and inclusive architecture, which is flexible enough to accommodate the great diversity which exists in Asia, is needed," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told students and scholars at the prestigious Peking University here. The minister opposed creation of "sub-regional security arrangements that are narrow and ultimately ineffective. We cannot transplant ideas from other parts of the world," Mukherjee said a day after holding wide ranging talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi here. In his speech on India's Foreign Policy he said "we already have some dialogue forums in place, such as ARF (Asean Regional Forum), the CICA (Conference of Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia) and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), where we are discussing security issues." As two major countries in Asia, India and China should try to work together to evolve a new framework "from these basic building blocks," he said. "I have no doubt that they will help us address our common concerns, such as the security of the sea lanes of communication, which are critical to trade and energy flows in our region and on which the future of our two countries will depend," he said. "We should work together towards peace, security and stability in Asia and beyond. For this, we will need to evolve a security architecture which takes into account the conditions prevailing in Asia," Mukherjee said. As two large Asian states and as two of the fastest growing emerging economies of the world, "cooperation between India and China transcends the bilateral sphere", he said, adding, "Indeed, it has global significance." Mukherjee said both the countries also need to work together with other countries towards mutually beneficial economic globalisation that would draw on the dynamism and potential of India and China. |
| Posted by:Steve White |