India has taken note of assertiveness by China: PM

In unusally strong remarks, prime minister Manmohan Singh has said India has taken note of "certain amount of assertiveness" by China lately, an apparent reference to its objections over Beijing's provocative steps.

Coming against the backdrop of China's statements on Arunachal Pradesh and other issues, Singh, however, said he did not "fully understand" the reasons for its actions.

"There is certain amount of assertiveness on the part of Chinese. I don't fully understand the reasons for it. That has to be taken note of," he said during an interaction at the US Council for foreign relations here.

The prime minister did not elaborate but the statement assumes significance considering that China has recently been involved in some provocative steps like issuing visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir on stapled sheets of paper rather than passport, to send out a message that it does not consider the state to be a part of India.

Besides, China has objected to the prime minister's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, is participating in projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir despite India's objections and mentioned Indo-Pak relations in a Joint Statement with the US.

Singh, who also responded to questions on Indo-Pak relations, denounced Pakistan's "selective" approach in the fight against terrorism. The prime minister said he did not want to speculate about India's response in the event of another 26/11-type attack.

 
"I hate to speculate and sincerely hope that such sort of eventuality does not arise," Singh said. The prime minister also indicated India's readiness to resume dialogue with Pakistan provided it abjures terrorism and comes to the table with "good faith and sincerity".
 
"It is my solemn hope that India and Pakistan can together move forward to write a new chapter in the history of the sub-continent...I have said that we are ready to pick up the threads of the dialogue, including on issues related to Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

Asked about the reference to Indo-Pak relations in the joint statement issued after talks in Beijing between US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, Singh said, "What happens between president Obama and president Hu is not our direct concern".

 Upset over the statement, India had made it clear there was no role for any third country in its relations with Pakistan. Asked about China's economic growth, the prime minister said there was no doubt that its performance was superior to that of India.

But Singh hastened to add that he would not like to choose the Chinese path and instead stick to the one pursued by India.

"There are several dimensions to human freedom which are not always caught by the numbers with regard to the GDP. So I do believe that even though Indian performance with regard to GDP might not be as good as the Chinese, certainly I would not like to choose the Chinese path. I would like to stick to Indian path," Singh said explaining why Indian model of economic reform was preferable.