India should remain neutral in the China-US rivalry in order to develop a political understanding with Beijing to resolve contentious issues like the border dispute, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said on Sunday.
“In my opinion border cannot be discussed with China in meaningful way unless you have a political understanding with it. That is the nature of China,” Swamy, who is here to participate in the World Peace Conference organised by China’s Tsinghua University, told PTI here.
“They had a political understanding with Russia, they settled what was considered as irreconcilable,” he said.
“Border is not a problem if you have a political understanding with China regarding our standing in the dispute between the two,” he said.
China says it has settled border disputes with 12 of its 14 neighbours except with India and Bhutan. Swamy said India remained neutral during China’s dispute with Russia.
India should do the same in the China-US rivalry, he said replying to a question about a perception that border issue can be settled as both countries have strong political leaderships.
SAARC should shed the rule “barring discussion on contentious bilateral issues” and agree to a larger role for China and the US to improve its functioning, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said on Sunday.
Founded in 1985, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) charter excludes “bilateral and contentious issues” from the ambit of deliberations, he said at a panel discussion on regional cooperation in South Asia at the World Peace Forum here.