New Delhi, Sep 10 (Inditop.com) Downplaying incursions into Indian territory, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Thursday said India was closely monitoring the Chinese build-up along Arunachal Pradesh.
“Incursions here and there should not be magnified. We have a long border with China and an ongoing relationship that we would want to see developing into a partnership,” Krishna told the Headlines Today in an interview.
“Teams from both sides are going through the entire gamut of border issues and have already met 13 times,” he said, referring to 13 rounds of talks the special representatives of India and China have held to resolve their long-standing border dispute.
“We have been monitoring the Chinese build-up along Arunachal Pradesh and elsewhere. Our defence preparedness is a continuing process,” Krishna said when asked what India was doing to counter China’s military and infrastructure build-up in Tibet and along the borders.
India’s northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh is claimed in its entirety by China.
Krishna also sought to dispel apprehensions in sections in India about what some see as the growing Nepal-China bonhomie. “Nepal understands our security concerns and has reassured us that it won’t let any other country use its soil to work against us,” Krishna said.
Early this week, Krishna said whenever any incursions took place, the two sides tried to resolve the issue through flag meetings and diplomatic channels.
According to the India-China 2005 protocol, a flag meeting for clarification is to be called within 48 hours of any air intrusion. The incident then has to be investigated by the country accused of intrusion and the result communicated to the other country within four weeks.
