 "India, China sign key border agreement")
Indo-China image via Shutterstock
India and China Wednesday inked a key border agreement for peace on the border as well as managing trans-border rivers and water sharing as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held talks here. Manmohan Singh said the agreement on Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) will add to "existing instrument to establish peace and tranquillity on the border".
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His Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang said, "I am sure it will bring peace and tranquillity in border areas."
Manmohan Singh said his talks with Premier Li have been very good and said that when India and China shake hands, the world notices.
Singh and Premier Li held restricted talks and delegation level talks at the Great Hall of the People after which both sides inked the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) that is aimed to reduce tensions on the 4,000-km boundary that has seen several incidents of Chinese incursions laying claim to disputed territory.
On Tuesday, sources had said that "all issues would be on the table". Besides the issuance of stapled visas by China to two archers from Arunachal Pradesh, India's northeastern state to which China lays claim, both sides would discuss the adverse trade balance and water sharing issues on the Brahmaputra river that runs from the Tibetan plateau to India.
The Indian cabinet approved the blueprint of the BDCA ahead of the prime minister's visit. The BDCA puts together existing mechanisms for maintaining peace on the border. It will not solve the border issue for which talks are going on for several years.