China confirmed its willingness to “increase consultations and communications with India”

On India’s quest for permanent place in UNSC, China on Sunday confirmed its willingness to “increase consultations and communications with India”. The first indications came in official reaction to US President Barack Obama’s endorsement to India’s candidature. The Chinese side had never suggested such discussions in the past.

Besides this, both agreed to formalize an annual meeting between the two foreign ministers. This was first mooted by Krishna when he visited China to mark the establishment of 60 years of diplomatic relations. Rao said that Krishna invited Yang to visit India early next year and that the latter has accepted the invitation.

Indian foreign Minister S M Krishna also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discussed with him the about upcoming bilateral visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. But in this case, specific deliverables were on the agenda with both sides agreeing to continue the conversations after the India-Russia inter-governmental commission meets next week in India.

Lavrov conveyed Russian support to India’s possible entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. S M Krishna also had dinner with Lavrov and Yang and the three leaders discussed the situation in Asia-Pacific and the Sino-Russian idea of open and inclusive security architecture for the region.

Yang also disclosed that Beijing had decided to invite South Africa for the next BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China) meet in China. In many ways, Rao indicated that this could be the birth of BRICSA.

In the course of a 70-minute bilateral conversation on the margins of the Russia-India-China trilateral meet on Sunday, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna conveyed his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi that it expects Beijing to set the record straight on Jammu & Kashmir by reciprocating just the way India has done in the case of Chinese sensitivities in Tibet and Taiwan.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao giving out details of these talks, put it bluntly on record: “Our minister (Krishna) referred to the need to show mutual sensitivity and that the Chinese side needs to be sensitive to our concerns in J&K like India has been sensitive to Chinese concerns on Taiwan and Tibet.”