By IANS
New Delhi : India is aware of some Chinese incursions into Indian territory on the border but there is no need to press the panic button as the issue is being addressed through adequate “mechanisms”, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said.
“Sometimes incursions take place. We immediately take it up. Mechanisms have been established through which we address this type of problem,” Mukherjee told Karan Thapar on “The Devil’s Advocate” programme, to be broadcast on CNN-IBN Sunday night.
“There is nothing to be worried at this point of time and the mechanisms which we have are doing well,” Mukherjee said when asked if India was worried about Chinese “incursions” into Indian territory along the border.
Mukherjee’s remarks came even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was leaving for a three-day visit to China Saturday night.
The minister’s remarks stressing there is no need to be worried about the Chinese incursions is a conscious effort on the part of India not to mar atmospherics during the prime minister’s visit, especially at a time when the two Asian giants are trying to deepen their strategic and economic ties.
Last year, there were over 140 Chinese incursions, according to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Some media reports claimed that some of these went as deep as 5 km into Indian territory.
Last month, India had denied reports of Chinese incursions. “As far as Indian territories are concerned, nothing had happened,” Defence Minister A.K. Antony had said.
Mukherjee admitted that the development of infrastructure on the Chinese side of the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh is “much superior to that on our side”, but qualified this by saying that India, too, was building roads and other infrastructural facilities on the Indian side.
“So far as the development of the infrastructure on the other side of the Indo-China border is concerned, their infrastructure in terms of road, electricity and availability of other facilities is much superior to that on our side,” he said.
“It’s a known fact. That is why we have decided that we should also build up roads and other types of infrastructure facilities,” he added.
When asked about concerns expressed by senior Indian army officers that the difference in infrastructure development gives the Chinese army a distinct advantage over Indian forces, Mukherjee, a former defence minister, said there was “no need of pressing any panic button”.
He, however, underlined the need for maintaining vigilance and alertness.
“There is no question of letting down our vigilance and alertness. But at the same time the situation, which is prevailing right now on the border and along the Line of Actual Control, there is no need of pressing any panic button. Peace and tranquillity are being retained there.”
When asked about reports of China developing defence-related infrastructure along border areas, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said Friday: “Both sides have maintained peace and tranquillity along the border. It’s natural for both sides to develop infrastructure on their side of the border,” he said.
“Both countries are committed to status quo pending the resolution of the border issue,” he added.