PTI
New Delhi
India on Tuesday described its border issues with China as “most serious” and asserted that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is of “utmost importance”, as the state of the frontier will govern the overall trajectory of bilateral ties.
New Delhi also trashed Beijing’s criticism of its decision to formally identify 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names, emphasising that the state is an “inalienable and integral” part of India and nothing can change this “indisputable reality”.
“In matters relating to the border areas between India and China, we have always emphasised in discussions with the Chinese side that we consider these issues as most serious and that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in these areas is of the utmost importance,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his bi-weekly media briefing.
The remarks came amid unconfirmed reports of aggressive posturing by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri region. “We have also stated that the state of the border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties,” he said.
Jaiswal was asked about an update on the military situation between India and China in Arunachal Pradesh and whether the issue has been taken up diplomatically with China.
There was no comment from the Indian Army on the reports of aggressive posturing by the Chinese troops in Upper Subansiri region along the LAC.
The MEA spokesperson also referred to New Delhi underlining the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas during the latest round of diplomatic talks between the
two countries.
“This was also reiterated at the recently held 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC) on August 6,” he said.
Jaiswal said the two sides engaged in frank discussions and reviewed the situation along the LAC. “The Indian side again underlined that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations.”
“It was agreed to continue to use existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local commander-level meetings and other agreed mechanisms, to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC,” he said.
Jaiswal also rejected China’s criticism of New Delhi’s decision to formally identify 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names.
