New Delhi reviews relations with China

By Wang Zhaokun

The Indian government convened a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Tuesday to review China's recent posturing and to assess relations with Beijing, according to a report by India's Indo-Asian News Service.

The 90-minute meeting was chaired by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Senior Indian officials, including Defense Minister A.K. Antony, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Indian Ambassador to China S. Jaishankar were among those who attended the meeting.

Jaishankar briefed the Cabinet Committee on Security about the recent developments of relations with China, the report says.

However, when approached by the Global Times, the Indian embassy in China declined to comment on the report and said the Indian ambassador to China returned home for India's annual meeting of ambassadors.

"The government of India has come to realize that China has been showing more than normal interest in Indian Ocean affairs. So we are closely monitoring Chinese intentions," Krishna told the Indian Parliament earlier.

The news of the committee's meeting came after Chinese warships' first-ever visit to Myanmar. Two warships of the 5th Escort Task Group of the Chinese Navy made a friendly call at Myanmar Yangon's Thilawa Port on Sunday after completing its escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast.

It was reported that the meeting also reviewed the preparedness of the Indian armed forces to respond to earlier reports that China had deployed 7,000 to 11,000 soldiers in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir - reports that were described by a Pakistan official as "totally fabricated."

The committee reportedly reached a consensus in the meeting that India would adopt a firm policy toward China, especially on issues concerning India's sovereignty, but the broader relationship between the two counties should not be affected.

Hu Shicheng, an expert on South Asian affairs at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that India consid-ers the Indian Ocean as its sphere of influence, due to historical and geographical reasons.

"However, China's involvement in affairs of the region is based on the principal of coordination," Hu said. "As a rising large country, India should have the right attitude in dealing with China.