China opposed expansion of the United Nations Security Council in 2005 by prevailing on the United States not to dilute the prime position enjoyed by five veto-wielding members by adding more as it would create "trouble" for them, according to leaked US cable by WikiLeaks.
The diplomatic efforts by China indicate dousing tensions between India and Pakistan, but the central issue, counter-terrorism, may take a back seat.
India has asked Pakistan to investigate the evidence given to it on the Mumbai terror attacks and extend legal assistance so that the perpetrators could be brought to justice, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters in New Delhi on Monday.The conspiracy behind the Mumbai terror attack was hatched in Pakistan and hence India has requested Pakistan to fulfill its commitments, informed Menon.
Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei, who will hold consultations with the top leadership of its 'all weather ally', stressed the need for maintaining peace and stability in South Asia, the Daily Times newspaper reported.Yafei, who met Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on Sunday called on India and Pakistan to work together to defuse the heightened tensions.
India and China on Tuesday expressed satisfaction over the steady development of bilateral ties, with New Delhi insisting that there was no stalemate on the boundary issue and a solution cannot be found overnight. Menon, who is in Beijing to attend the G-5 meeting of India, China, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil ahead of the G-8 summit of rich nations in Japan in July, said he discussed with them "what we can do and what we have been doing on bilateral relationship."
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said that Pakistan had given a 'blank cheque' to China, authorising it to negotiate with India on its behalf to deal with the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks.Speaking at a reception at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad on Wednesday night, Qureshi said he had told Chinese special envoy He Yafei to "go to Delhi and you have a blank cheque from us".
Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Monday emphasised the need to avoid a conflict with India in the wake of the Mumbai attacks as China launched a diplomatic initiative to ease tensions by dispatching a top diplomat to Islamabad. Kayani's comments, believed to be his first on the situation, came during his talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, who is in Islamabad.
Domestically, China's 'strike hard' policy is alienating Uighurs further in Xinjiang. China's quid pro quo with the Taliban is hardly any lasting solution to the Afghanistan crises or to regional security, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
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