‘We’ll sort out China incursions issue’

Dubbing Chinese incursions into Sikkim “unfortunate”, Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju said on Thursday that India would take up the issue with China at the appropriate level. “The issue of incursions will be raised at the next flag meeting with the Chinese and also discussed at the appropriate level. As responsible neighbours, we will sort it out,” Raju told reporters.

Raju’s comments come in the wake of frequent incursions into Indian territory along the undefined line of actual control (LAC) by Chinese troops. The Finger Area in Sikkim has witnessed as many as 65 incursions in the last six months. Raju said, “I think it is China’s way of putting pressure to resolve the border dispute with India. We are engaged in talks with Beijing to resolve the dispute. It is their style and we have our own style…”

“It is unfortunate that these have happened and it (the issue of Sikkim) is being raised again... Sikkim is a closed chapter as far as we are concerned,” Raju said.

Beijing described the festering boundary row with India as a “very sensitive issue”. However, it noted that the two sides had agreed that their strategic cooperation in other areas should not be affected by the decades-old row.

“Tremendous changes” had taken place in the Sino-Indian relationship compared to the past and a strategic partnership had been agreed to, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei told reporters.

He said the leaders of the two countries had taken a strategic view of the relationship.

With PTI inputs