India would resolve border issue with China bilaterally, say Foreign Affairs and Defence Experts
May 29, 2020
New Delhi [India], May 29 : In the backdrop of the border issue between India and China in Ladakh and US President Donald Trump's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not in 'good mood' as regards the ongoing situation with Beijing, experts on foreign affairs and defence said that India would like to solve the issue with China in a bilateral way.
"On US President Donald Tump's offer of mediation or arbitration in the standoff between India and China, India would like to politely refuse this offer and work on resolving this issue through the mechanism in place with China. India and China have established mechanisms at military and diplomatic levels to peacefully resolve issues at the border. India has a sensible approach towards border management," Foreign Affairs Expert Anil Wadhwa said.
"We must not forget that India and China have signed five specific agreements in the past two decades beginning with the 1993 agreement on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Then we had agreements in 1996, 2005, 2012 and 2013 on the issues concerning the border between the two countries," he added.
Wadhwa further said: "Nobody can question India's right to build roads, bridges or airfields on its own territory and India is scrupulously adhering to these agreements and trying to use them now to resolve this issue."
Defence Expert SP Sinha while speaking to ANI said: "Since April 4, 2020, US President Donald Trump has not spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi so there is little truth in his offer to mediate in India-China issue. Secondly, with regard to Jammu and Kashmir too, President Trump had made a statement that India had requested him to mediate. That too turned out to be false. At this juncture, we are not inclined to take any third-party support as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has clarified that they are engaged with China and find a peaceful solution to the issues between the two countries."
Speaking on the recent issue between India and Nepal, Sinha said: "Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is working under the influence of China. It is deplorable that he is acting as an agent of China. I want to ask Nepal, who is their genuine friend who has respected their territorial integrity. It is India. When the last time a natural disaster struck Nepal, then India came to their rescue."
"If Nepal wishes to destroy its heritage, religion, culture and independence then they can go ahead. But it is a fact that if they work under the guidance of China, it would affect the trade and economic relations with India. India is a big market and bad relation with India is going to dent the prospects of Nepal. China has destroyed Pakistan and Nepal should learn from history," he added.
