Chinese envoy for 3-way talks with India, Pakistan

NEW DELHI: The Chinese ambassador to India created a stir on Monday by proposing a China-India-Pakistan trilateral grouping, arguing that the India-China bilateral ties cannot stand another Doklam-type incident.

However, Luo Zhaohui's remark was soon dismissed by the Indian foreign ministry as a personal opinion. "We have not received any such suggestion from the Chinese government. Matters related to India-Pakistan relations are purely bilateral in nature and have no scope for involvement of any third country," the ministry said. This iterates a long standing Indian position on relations with Pakistan.

Addressing a seminar on India-China relations in New Delhi, Luo quoted "some Indian friends" as suggesting trilateral cooperation comprising India, China and Pakistan under the SCO framework.

"Security cooperation is one of the three pillars of the SCO. Some Indian friends suggested that China, India and Pakistan may have some kind of trilateral cooperation under the SCO," Luo said. The Chinese envoy said a trilateral as "a good and constructive idea." He then added "Maybe not now, but in the future, that is the great idea. It will help to resolve bilateral issues and help to maintain peace and tranquillity."

The articulation comes in the background of Chinese suggestions ahead of the recent Shanghai cooperation summit that the presence of both India and Pakistan in the grouping could help reduce regional tensions.

On relations with India, the envoy said, "We cannot stand another Doklam (sic)." India has maintained that bilateral problems need bilateral solutions. Its unlikely India would agree to bringing a third party into bilateral disputes, certainly not two countries as close as China and Pakistan and Beijing's role in thwarting India at the UN and at the NSG.

"We need to narrow differences through expanding cooperation. However, it does not mean that differences would be ignored. The boundary question between our two countries was left over by history. We need to build on convergence to find a mutual acceptable solution through the Special Representatives Meeting while adopting confidence building measures to maintain the peace and tranquillity along the border," he said.