In the midst of a war of words between the two countries, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday expressed his desire to meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh [ Images ], on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Thailand next week.
Premier Wen conveyed his wish during a meeting with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, who was on a visit to Beijing [ Images ] to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet, sources said.
The Chinese leader's remarks come a day after Beijing raked up its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, questioning Prime Minister Singh's [ Images ] visit there on October 3. India [ Images ] hit back on Wednesday, reacting strongly to Chinese plans to get involved in projects in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
New Delhi [ Images ] has maintained that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and the prime minister has a right and responsibility to visit the state. In a strongly-worded statement, it also asked China to cease from activities in PoK taking a 'long-term view' of Sino-India relations.
During the meeting with Wen, Deora put up India's case for participating in the SCO's Tashkent-based Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure, along with the six-nation security grouping's full members.
India, along with Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia has an observer status in the SCO, which comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia [ Images ], Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
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