The foreign ministers of China, Russia and India yesterday
reached broad consensus on "practical cooperation" among the three
countries - and reaffirmed that the trilateral partnership is not
targeted at any other country or organization.
The ministers agreed the development of their countries is a
major contribution to peace and development in the region and the
world, and is beneficial to the process of global multi-polarity,
according to a joint communiqu.
The document was released after Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held two hours of talks with
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Indian counterpart Pranab
Mukherjee in the capital city of Heilongjiang Province.
It emphasized that "multilateralism and collective action should
be promoted in addressing urgent issues and meeting new challenges
and threats".
The ministers said their countries attach great importance to
the issue of climate change and reiterated the principles and
provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its
Kyoto Protocol, including the principle of "common but
differentiated responsibilities".
They also agreed the three countries will engage in pragmatic
cooperation in anti-terrorism, agriculture, disaster prevention and
control, and medicine and health; and encourage and facilitate
closer collaboration between enterprises.
"The trilateral cooperation is open and transparent, and is not
targeted at any other party. It does not draw lines on the grounds
of ideologies and values," Yang said at a joint news conference
with Lavrov and Mukherjee.
Lavrov, who said Russia has no plans to enter into a military
alliance with China and India, added: "We advance cooperation in
the bilateral format, in the trilateral format, within the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization framework and in other structures. We also
seek to resolve key security issues through multilateral
discussions by politicians," he said.
Myanmar issue
The ministers urged all parties in Myanmar to engage in dialogue
to resolve the conflict and support efforts made by UN special
envoy Ibrahim Gambari, but said they opposed UN sanctions against
the country.
"The special envoy of the UN secretary-general, the initiatives
he has taken, should be encouraged (but) there should not be any
sanctions at this stage," Mukherjee told reporters.
Yang repeated China's stance that the issue was ultimately up to
Myanmar's government and people to resolve.
Lavrov warned that sanctions, threats or other forms of pressure
on the Myanmar government risked "aggravating the situation and
generating a new crisis".
Missile system
Responding to a question about US plans for a missile system
based in Europe, Lavrov said the issue was "discussed at length and
in great detail" during a recent visit to Moscow by US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice. He said Russia was awaiting written
proposals that the US side had promised to submit.
He said the matter was not discussed at yesterday's meeting.
"That's because there are other ways and means of addressing risks
that ensue from the deployment of a missile defense system," he
said.
Yang said China's position on the issue was "consistent and
clear".
"Not only will the missile defense program fail to meet the
security concerns of related countries, but it may also possibly
damage the global strategic balance and stability, nor is it
conducive to enhancing mutual trust among the countries," Yang
said.
Mukherjee denied speculation that India will join the US missile
defense system, saying such assertions are "groundless".
(China Daily October 25, 2007)
