Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) India Thursday ruled out confrontation with China and underlined that there are “elements of cooperation and competition” in the bilateral relationship.

“India’s interest is clearly in an inclusive world order, with China as one of its cooperative members. That is clearly what we need to work towards, along with China itself,” National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said, delivering the 16th Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture entitled “India and the Global Scene” here.

“Bilaterally, India-China relations today have elements of cooperation and competition at the same time,” Menon said while singling out the rise of China in Asia as one of the key factors that will impinge on India’s quest for transformation and its emergence as a power in the world.

“We have a boundary dispute, and our overlapping peripheries in our extended neighbourhood which is also China’s extended neighbourhood,” said Menon, also a former ambassador to China.

“So long as both of use continue to be primarily concerned with our internal transformations, cooperate in the international arena on our common interests, and do not see the other affecting our core interests, we can expect the present relationship to continue as it is,” he said.

Menon, however, cautioned that in order to have harmonious relationship with China, it will require much “better communication between each other and no misunderstanding of each other’s actions and motives”.