Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) India Tuesday said it was evolving a joint mechanism with China to resolve their long-pending territorial dispute, while it acknowledged that the border had remained by and large peaceful since their 1962 conflict.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony told reporters here that the government has decided to set up a mechanism along with its neighbour by involving all stakeholders, such as the armed forces, paramilitary forces and the external affairs ministry.

“The mechanism will be in place within a few months. The ministry of external affairs is coordinating it,” Antony said while responding to queries on the frequent incursions by Chinese military personnel into Indian territory.

Noting that Beijing was “aggressively” building up its military capabilities and infrastructure along the borders, Antony said New Delhi was not “grumbling” about it, but was focusing on building its own capabilities and infrastructure in the eastern sector by raising two new mountain divisions and creating new advanced landing grounds for its air assets.

“We will strengthen our armed forces to act as an effective deterrent. It will continue in a more speedy manner in the future,” he said, adding that India had “neglected” its eastern sector for long, but now was steadily increasing security there.

On the recent reports of incursions by Chinese troopers into Indian territory in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Antony said New Delhi has conveyed its concerns through the official channels to Beijing. However, he blamed the incursions to differing perceptions of the line of actual control of the troops on either side of the border for such incidents.

“Even now the border is not delineated. The incursions take place due to differences in our perception of the line of actual control. We also go up to our perception of the border,” he said.