China says ties with India friendly

] They also represent two of the world’s fastest-growing militaries, armed with nuclear weapons, and are expanding their spheres of influence across oceans. Jonathan Holslag, a Brussels-based scholar of Chinese foreign policy and author of the recent book China and India: Prospects for Peace, is among a growing number of observers who have dismissed the idea of “Chindia” — a term once often invoked, expressing optimism over the joint geopolitical rise of the two Asian giants. He spoke to TIME about the fault lines between the two neighbors, Washington’s place in the region and how tensions could escalate into war. The subtitle of your book suggests that conflict is already under way. Is greater confrontation and perhaps even war inevitable in the coming years? It’s not inevitable, but peace cannot be taken for granted. The scope for these two countries to develop peacefully and fulfill their national interests without entering into competition is getting smaller due to internal social pressures and rising nationalism. I am not arguing that they don’t want to develop peacefully, but that the options for doing so are not that great. They’ll be competing at all levels, not only for economic opportunities, but for regional influence. This will lead to an uncomfortable and risky situation. (See pictures of Chinese workers.) The last war fought between India and China was almost 50 years ago. How much of a strain is its legacy? Ever since the 1962 war, both sides have been extremely cautious and suspicious of each other. There has been no resolution to the border issue [over remote, heavily militarized territories in the Himalayas:
in spite of numerous rounds of negotiations and tensions that have flared recently. It’s a kind of historic scar that impedes progress. More http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1974028,00.html