Sino-Indian relations are stable, says Rao

NEW DELHI - Disagreeing with the assessment of China’s ambassador who said that Sino-Indian ties were fragile, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said Thursday that relations between the two countries were actually “far more stable” compared to two or three decades ago.

“They have become stronger, the foundation of this relationship has become much more stable,” she told a news conference here.

“It is true that there is a certain tendency to regard… certain angles of the relationship are focussed on, and given some prominence,” she said, without elaborating.

“But we who are actually practicing it (diplomacy) understand that this interaction between India and China has grown over the years and has become far more stable … than they were 20 years, 30 years ago.

“I certainly don’t subscribe to what I shall say extreme judgements about fragility and the fact that one issue on which we have a difference can shake the relationship at its very foundation.”

But Rao, quickly, added that she respected the Chinese ambassador in New Delhi and described him as an “excellent diplomat”.