Salman: Working on Indo-China border cooperation

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, fresh from his visit to Beijing said both India and China are working on aA new Border Defence Cooperation Agreement. His statement comes in the backdrop ofA the recent Chinese incursion in Ladakh. Khurshid said the two sides had underlined that incidents like the recent incursion in Daulat Beg Oldi should not happen and agreed that this issue should not come in way of improving ties.A

The ministers also said that special representatives from both the countries will meet in a couple of months to discuss the boundaryA issues in detail. "China has proposed sometime back a proposal for Border Defence Cooperation Agreement...We have also given our suggestions," he said. On the recent incursion by Chinese troops 19 km into Indian territory, he said, "we did not do any post-mortem or aportion blame." On the contentious issues which could be raised during the visit of Chinese premier Li Keqiang, he said, "there are no prickly issues, issues of major differences which can be seen as obstacles." He said MoUs would be signed during the Chinese premier's visit and some during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's subsequent visit to Beijing later this year. "This is for the first time since 1954 that a two way visit by the two Prime Ministers of the two countries in the same year," Mr Khurshid said.