New Delhi
11 March 2006
An elaborate spread of Epicurean delights comprising the best in
continental cuisine will be laid out on Sunday for the special representatives from India
and China when they meet over dinner on a houseboat in the idyllic backwaters of
Vembanad lake in the Kottayam district of Kerala.
The two delegations led by National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Chinese
Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo will pour over maps in their quest for
arriving at a "package settlement" of the boundary question soon after reaching Kochi at
12.45 pm. The Taj Garden Retreat resort at Kumarakom shall be the venue of the talks.
Mr Dai called on Dr Manmohan Singh at the Prime Minister's 7, Race Course Road
residence this morning. (Dr Singh was to tell Parliament later that "(India's) relations with
China are stronger and warmer today".) It is understood that New Delhi sought Beijing's
support in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and also discussed the March 2 understanding
reached between India and the United States on implementing the civilian nuclear
energy cooperation.
The backwaters of Kumarakom were made famous by a former premier Atal Behari
Vajpayee's musings. Kottayam is also home to the late president and an envoy to China,
Mr KR Narayanan. Besides Chinese fishing nets, historical evidence of trade with
ancient China can be seen there.
The April 11, 2005 agreement on the political parameters and guiding principles for the
settlement of the India-China boundary question lists 11 Articles. The Article III reads,
"Both sides should, in the spirit of mutual respect and mutual understanding, make
meaningful and mutually acceptable adjustments to their respective positions on the
boundary question, so as to arrive at a package settlement to the boundary question.
The boundary settlement must be final, covering all sectors of the India-China
boundary."
The Article X reads, "The Special Representatives ... shall continue their consultations
[to arrive] at an agreed framework for a boundary settlement, which will provide the basis
for the delineation and demarcation of the India-China boundary to be subsequently
undertaken by civil and military officials and surveyors of the two sides."
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