No strain in Sino-India ties due to Dalai's Arunachal visit: India

New Delhi, Nov 4 : India today once again denied that its decision to allow Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to tour Arunachal Pradesh had put a strain in Indo-China relations.

Responding to a media query on the issue, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao while speaking on the sidelines of a seminar here said, ''There is no strain in bilateral ties,'' while adding that the coming days could see better ties between the two countries.

''Ties with China are set to acquire more substance in the coming days,'' she said, however, adding that relationship with the country was indeed ''complex''.

Reiterating India's stated position on the Tibetan spiritual leader, Ms Rao said the Dalai Lama was free to move anywhere in India while quickly adding that it was conditional that he does not indulge in any political activity.

''Our position on the issue is very clear.'' The Dalai Lama has been living in India for nearly 50 years at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.

Accepting that greater political will was needed by both sides to overcome issues like the border dispute, Ms Rao said they would take time to get resolved.

The Foreign Secretary also said that despite various outstanding issues between both the countries, ties between India and China were bound to acquire ''greater dynamism and relevance'' over a period of time and added that the rise of the two Asian powers gave a source of dynamism to the region as well as the world.

Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had categorically told Chinese premier Wen Jiabao during their meeting at Hua Hin in Thailand that the Dalai Lama was India's ''honoured guest'' and added that ''(But) we do not allow Tibetans to indulge in any political activity.''

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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