'India,China should devise code of conduct for boundary issue'

Beijing, May 15: The boundary dispute between India and China has become a "conundrum" affecting bilateral ties and both countries should work out a code of conduct if the issue is not resolved in the near future, according to an article published in the state-run newspaper today.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talk with the Chinese leadership, it is also noted that there is a lack of mutual strategic trust between the two rapidly emerging Asian powers.

In the article in Global Times, Y A Liu Zongy, assistant research fellow of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies said, "The boundary disputes are a conundrum in the bilateral relationship. If it can't be solved at an earlier date, the two sides should more closely stick to the code of conduct they reached before."

During her China trip in January, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj had proposed that both sides should think "out of the box" for solutions to the border issue.

"It is not clear what such solutions are but we hope border contention will not affect the bilateral cooperation," it said.

"Realising regional security, including the stability in Afghanistan and the security in the Indian Ocean, requires concerted efforts from both China and India," it said.

"Modi's victory in the country's general elections last May has injected enormous confidence into India's economic development as well as offering hope to the US, Japan and other nations attempting to take advantage of New Delhi to contain China," it said.

New Delhi also holds an ambiguous attitude toward China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, the article said, referring to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and other regional economic cooperation plans.

"There is indeed competition and a lack of mutual strategic trust between the two rapidly emerging Asian powers. Over the past year, India, under the Modi administration, has become a star on the world stage," it said.

Though it joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a founding member, there are suspicions among some Indian scholars that the bank will serve as an instrument of Chinese foreign and strategic policy, it said. "India longs for economic integration in Asia.

However, it is reluctant to see China acting as the single leader in the region but expects to share the role. It is a long-term task for the two sides to establish mutual strategic trust, but political resolutions of powerful leaders will inevitably accelerate this process," it said.

PTI