India, China end border talks: no result

Special representatives of Asian powers India and China on Monday wound up three days of talks to resolve a decades-old border dispute, announcing no breakthrough. India's National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and China's Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo held the seventh round of talks between the special envoys in New Delhi and a coastal town in the southern Kerala state.

Photo: India, China end border talks: no result

India, China end border talks: no result

"The two special representatives continued their discussions for an agreed framework for the resolution of the boundary question in a constructive and friendly atmosphere," an Indian foreign ministry statement said Monday.

Dai also met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday. India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 across the Himalayas and have long had adversarial ties. The dispute relates to 125,000 square kilometers (50,000 square miles) of disputed territory along their mountainous frontier.

India says China still controls 41,440 square kilometers (16,000 square miles) of its territory in the Kashmir region, while Beijing lays claim to a wide swath of territory in India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which shares a 1046-kilometer (650-mile) border with China's Tibet region. Relations have warmed in recent years and the two countries have expanded economic ties, including plans for joint collaboration in oil exploration and information technology.

An Indian official said Friday that despite cordiality, the talks were stalemated at a stage where political compromises are required from both sides. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to be quoted by the media, reports the AP.

N.U.