'China has no objection to India's UNSC bid'

China has said that it has "no objection" to India's candidature for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council but was firmly opposed to Japan's bid for the same due to "historical baggage", according to Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury.

China's stand in this regard was conveyed to CPI-M politburo member, Yechury by top Chinese diplomat and State Councillor Dai Bingguo.

"Dai bent over backwards to explain to me saying that they are not against India being there (UNSC) at all," Yechury who held a two hour long meeting with Dai on Friday told the Indian media in Beijing.

"China has no objection to India becoming permanent member of UNSC. India is India but not as part of G-4," he said, adding that that it was for the first time perhaps there was a sense of clarity in China's stand on India's bid. But at the same time the Chinese diplomat stated that China has problem to come out in support as India has become part of the G-4 group, (India, Japan, Germany and Brazil) to campaign for its UNSC bid.

"For us there is historical baggage with Japan and China can never accept Japan's membership," he told Yechury.

India should have verified with China before joining the G-4, (India, Japan, Germany and Brazil) as Beijing can not support Japan's bid due to historical discord.

"The fact that India chose to be in Japan's company and if anybody talked (to us) we would have immediately told to you that," Yechury, who is in China on the invitation of ruling Communist Party of China to develop party-to-party relations, quoted Dai as saying. He said Dai, the designated chinese special representative along with India's National Security Advisor,

Shivshankar Menon for talks resolve border dispute "dropped" in to meet him for 45 minutes. But the meeting went on for over two hours.

During the talks a whole lot of issues including a joint approach to contain terrorism and China's support for Pakistan also figured. So far China is the only country among the permanent five, (United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France and China) which has not come out in support of India's bid in categorical terms.

Beijing's open opposition to Japan perhaps would make the process of UNSC reform more complex.

Yechury said for its part CPI-M advocated India to stake its claim for the UNSC permanent membership as a leader of the developing countries and not part of G-4, specially Japan and Germany which was part of fascist forces during the second world war.

Stating that US was complicating by linking reforms with alliances, he said, "The expansion of UNSC will not happen in isolation. Now, if it is tied up with other things of UN reform it will take many years to happen," he said.

Yechury said in his talks with Dai he has raised "irritants" like China's support Pakistan and negative effect it had on Sino-Indian ties.

On the latest Mumbai terrorist attacks and India's concerns on terrorism, China is sending a signal that it is with India. But they do not want to "complicate" it by mixing up its close relation with Pakistan, he said.

China wants to develop close ties with India independent of its relationship with Pakistan he said. "They are trying to give a signal there that please do not complicate it because our relationship with Pakistan," he said.