New Delhi: After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about needing to “urgently” address the “prolonged” border stand-off, China on Thursday (April 11) said that there has been “positive progress” in talks and reiterated that the boundary differences should be relegated to the sidelines of the bilateral relationship.
The Chinese foreign ministry’s reaction came a day after a US magazine, Newsweek, had carried a report about the Indian prime minister’s responses on several topics, including relations with China.
In the published article, Modi said, “For India, the relationship with China is important and significant. It is my belief that we need to urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us.”
At the daily media briefing, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that China had “noted” the Indian prime minister’s remarks.
“Sound and stable China-India relations serve the interests of both countries and are conducive to peace and development in the region and beyond,” she said.
The Chinese official reiterated the traditional position that the boundary issue “should be placed appropriately in bilateral relations and managed properly”.
Since April-May 2020, Indian and Chinese troops had been on a stand-off at multiple points in eastern Ladakh. In June, 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers were killed in a violent clash, the first fatal encounter at the border in over 40 years.
After multiple rounds of discussions, there has been partial disengagement at approximately five points, involving the withdrawal of troops by both sides and the establishment of a buffer zone. But unresolved tensions persist at remaining contentious areas such as Depsang and Demchok.
By claiming these two areas are part of the larger “legacy” boundary dispute and not part of the current stand-off, China has repeatedly asserted that the ongoing situation at the border has been resolved and called for normalisation of ties.
“China and India maintain close communication through diplomatic and military channels on handling issues related to the border situation and have made positive progress. We hope that India will work with China, approach the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, keep building trust and engaging in dialogue and cooperation, and seek to handle differences appropriately to put the relationship on a sound and stable track,” said the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
The Indian leader’s remarks came after defence minister Rajnath Singh had made belligerent statements on China.
“China has changed the names of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh and posted it on its website. Sisters and brothers, nothing will happen by changing the names. I want to tell my neighbour that if tomorrow we change the names of some states in some parts of of China, will those states of China become ours by changing the names? I want to tell my neighbour that if tomorrow we change the names of some states in some parts of China, will those states of China become ours by changing the names,” Singh said at an election rally in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday.
The opposition Congress party has criticised the prime minister for his remark on China, describing them as “feeble and ineffective”.
“In his interview with Newsweek, a US magazine, the Prime Minister was at his cowardly worst. His only comment on China’s repeated infringements on Indian sovereignty was that the India-China border situation needs to be addressed urgently to resolve the ‘abnormality’ in the bilateral interaction,” tweeted senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.
“The Prime Minister had a chance to send a powerful message to China. However, his ineffective and feeble response is likely to only encourage China further in asserting its claim on Indian territory,” he added.
Ramesh demanded that Modi should “apologise” for his statement made on June 19, 2020 – “Na koi ghusa hai, na hi koi ghus aaya hai (Nobody entered India and nobody has entered any post)” – and keeping the nation in dark about his failures to protect the borders with China.