NSA downplays Indo-China map controversy

There is nothing new in Beijing’s recent passport map showing Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh under Chinese control, said national security advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon.

There is nothing new in Beijing’s recent passport map showing Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh under Chinese control, said national security advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon.

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“What has changed?” he said, “Chinese have a view on where the boundary lies... The Chinese chose to put a watermark on their passports which shows the boundaries as they see it. We show our boundary as we see it on visas that we issue.”

Menon, speaking at a book launch at the Observer Research Foundation, said India and China have shown an ability to “manage” their relations and engage in “strategic communications” on a host of issues, including boundaries and rivers.

He said the map row should be seen in a perspective.

“We have differences on the boundary. We are discussing them. We have made progress in dealing with the boundary,” he said. Menon is the special envoy on the Sino-Indian border talks. India, he said, needed an “external environment” that was “conducive to economic growth.”