Purely commercial interest in South China Sea, PM Manmohan Singh tells Wen Jiabao

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has defended India's pact with Vietnam in the South China Sea and said it was dictated by "pure commercial interests". At a 22-minute meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabo on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Bali, Singh said the issue of sovereignty over the South China Sea should be resolved under international law.

China, which claims a large swathe of the potentially oil-rich South China Sea, has been angered by a recent pact between India and Vietnam for exploring oil. China has repeatedly said it has "indisputable sovereignty" over essentially all of the South China Sea, a key trading route, and that Beijing is opposed to any country engaged in oil and gas exploration there without its permission.

Besides Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are claimants for parts of the South China Sea. This has been leading to maritime stand off between these countries and China. India has been maintaining that its oil exploration projects in two Vietnamese blocks in the South China Sea were in line with "international laws".

Reports said the talks between Singh and Wen saw both sides reiterating their commitment to work together. "India and China must work hand-in-hand to ensure that the 21st century belongs to Asia," the Chinese premier told Singh.

"We are neighbours and also large growing economies of Asia. We should cooperate bilaterally and globally," Singh told Wen, seeking to bridge the differences that have strained relations between the two countries in recent weeks. Singh said India was committed to developing the best of relations with China.

The two sides agreed on the need for close interaction as there was "enough space" for both nations. Singh said this was evident in the on-going climate change negotiations.