E-Paper
Govt: Keeping watch on developments at border
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi made the remarks at a weekly media briefing while responding to questions regarding a senior US general describing China’s build-up of defence infrastructure on the LAC as “alarming”.
India said on Thursday that it has taken adequate steps to safeguard territorial integrity in the face of China’s development of infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and asserted that restoration of peace and tranquillity alone will lead to normalcy in the border areas.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi made the remarks at a weekly media briefing while responding to questions regarding a senior US general describing China’s build-up of defence infrastructure on the LAC as “alarming”.
“We would like to emphasise, as we have done in the past, that the government of India carefully monitors developments along border areas, including construction of infrastructure by the Chinese side in the western sector as well as that being undertaken further in depth areas,” Bagchi said.
He added, “We have always maintained that restoration of normalcy will obviously require restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC, which had been disturbed by the Chinese actions in 2020.”
General Charles A Flynn, the commanding general of the US Army Pacific, had told the media in New Delhi that some of the defence infrastructure being created by China along the LAC in Ladakh is “alarming”.
“I believe that the activity level is eye-opening and I think some of the infrastructure that is being created in the (Chinese Army’s) western theatre command is alarming,” Flynn said when asked about his assessment of the prolonged India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Flynn said the Chinese side needs to be asked about its military build-up and the intentions behind it.
Declining to comment on Flynn’s remarks, Bagchi said the Indian government is committed to taking “all adequate and appropriate measures to safeguard territorial integrity and sovereignty as the developments in recent years have clearly demonstrated”.
The government, he said, has taken various measures in recent years to develop infrastructure along the border areas to “not only meet India’s strategic and security requirements but also facilitate the economic development” of these regions.
The Indian side has maintained continuous communication with the Chinese side, through diplomatic and military channels, to resolve the standoff that began in 2020, he said. These contacts have included 15 meetings involving senior military commanders and 10 meetings of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) for India-China border affairs. There have also been meetings and communications between the defence and foreign ministers and national security advisers of the two sides.
“This has led to some progress as both sides have successfully disengaged in a number of areas along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. We will maintain our dialogue with the Chinese side to resolve the remaining issues,” Bagchi said.
The two sides also agreed at last week’s meeting of the WMCC to hold another rounds of talks between senior military commanders.
“It is our expectation that in these talks, the Chinese side will work with the Indian side to reach a mutually acceptable solution for the remaining issues, given that both sides agree that the prolongation of the existing situation is not in the interest of either side or overall relations,” Bagchi said.
Following the diplomatic and military talks, India and China completed the disengagement of front-line forces on the north and south banks of Pangong lake and at Gogra last year.
India has consistently maintained that peace and tranquillity on the LAC are key to normalisation of bilateral relations. Both countries currently have around 50,000 to 60,000 troops deployed in the Ladakh sector of the LAC.
China slams US General
China on Thursday termed the remarks by General Charles A Flynn on its infrastructure build-up at the Sino-India border as “disgraceful” and criticised the attempts of some American officials to “fan flames”, emphasising that Beijing and New Delhi have the “will and capability” to properly resolve their differences through talks, PTI reported.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, “The China-India boundary question is a matter between the two countries. Both sides have the will and capability of resolving the question through dialogue and consultation.”
“Some US officials have pointed fingers and sought to fan the flame and drive a wedge between the two countries. This is disgraceful. We hope the US could do more things that contribute to regional peace and stability,” he said.
