JOIN USThe External Affairs Ministry on Friday stood its ground against China's objections to India’s oil exploration projects in the South China Sea by saying that the region is a “property of the world” and that there should not be any “national interference”.
Speaking to reporters in Bangalore, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the area should be used for increasing trade-related activities among nations which come within the rim of the South China Sea.
China has been objecting to any activity in the South China Sea region, including Indian oil exploration, as it has territorial disputes with Asean countries like Vietnam and the Philippines.
“India maintains that the South China Sea is the property of the world. I think those trade ways must be free from any national interference,” he said.
Proposal accepted
He said this aspect had been accepted by China in its dialogue with the Asean nations. “So I think India subscribes to the theory that these trade ways should be free ways for trade to prosper,” he said.
He denied that the Sino-Indian relationship “is under strain.”
”Very recently during the BRICS summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao was in Delhi. And we had very cordial talks with him and I totally reject that theory,” he added.