India, China Agree to Prevent Flareups along Border

Posted January 18th, 2012 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
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India and China have agreed to work to prevent any flare-ups and to ensure peace along their disputed Himalayan border.

India's ambassador to China, S. Jaishankar, and China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin signed an agreement in New Delhi to establish a committee on border management.

The agreement calls for both countries to strive to maintain “peace and tranquility” along their border, and to conduct “timely communication” about border incidents. The new committee is to meet once or twice a year.

The agreement was signed Tuesday after several days of meetings between Indian and Chinese officials.

India and China, two of the world's foremost emerging economic powers, have a history of disagreements, including unresolved border disputes. The two countries fought a brief but bloody war in 1962.

Kashmir is one source of tension between the two countries. India and Pakistan both claim full ownership of the disputed territory, which is also claimed in part by China.

The Tibetan issue is another source of tension. China has long objected to India granting asylum to the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.