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External affairs minister Salman Khurshid has asserted that India is not scared of China.
"India is no pushover. We are not scared of China," he told Headlines Today on board a special aircraft en route to Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The minister, who is going to Almaty to attend the ministerial conference on Afghanistan, said the two armies at the ground level are working to sort out the "difference of perception", but refused to give a timeline for a solution.
Beijing visit
On his plan to visit Beijing on May 9, he said: "This (the incursion dispute) is not an issue for which the foreign minister would go rushing to Beijing… We hope the matter will be resolved by then. Should it not be by then, it will be a part of the agenda."
Asked whether India's response to China's incursion was so far timid, the minister said: "The response should not be seen as timid or robust or whether it is proportional. This (incursion) is adverse to our interests. The fact that they happen to be where we don't want them to be is established. We don't wish them to be there."
Army's view
The army is understood to have recommended a more robust defensive posture along the Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control to the government.
Khurshid insisted that the army's view was being factored into the government's response. The minister categorically said the issue was being sorted out at the military level. "The military perception and point of view has been factored in. The opinion of the armed forces is very important. And we have largely left it to the army to handle it. "
The minister insisted that an isolated incident should not be allowed to affect the major investments both India and China have made in the process, for the costs are very high for both the Asian giants, both being nuclear powers.
Asked if China was behaving like a regional bully, Khurshid said: "This (current incursion into sub-sector north near Daulat Beg Oldi) incident should be seen as a local incident. Both the militaries are attempting to sort it out. Whatever one might say about the Chinese style and the Indian style (of diplomacy), I'd rather say we preserve the Indian style of drawing historical parallels."
Asked if the political leadership was not keen on adopting the army's suggestion on robust response, Khurshid said: "Ultimately the decision is taken by the political leadership and we are not out of sync with the armed forces. That's why we have left it to them to handle it, of course in the broad framework of mechanism established by the government.
As the government mulled ways to end border deadlock with China, the situation at ground zero - the face-off point between the Indian and Chinese troops around 30 kms south of Daulat Beg Oldie in Ladakh - continued to be calm.
At the moment, both the sides are maintaining same numbers at the face-off site.
There is no vehicular movement or helicopters flying in the area. The Chinese tents are located around 500 meters east of the face-off site in the dry bed of Raki Nala.
Around 15-20 soldiers are stationed at the face-off site at any given point of time while the rest remain in the tents.
Read more at: India is no pushover, we are not scared of China: Salman Khurshid : Neighbours, News - India Today
"India is no pushover. We are not scared of China," he told Headlines Today on board a special aircraft en route to Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The minister, who is going to Almaty to attend the ministerial conference on Afghanistan, said the two armies at the ground level are working to sort out the "difference of perception", but refused to give a timeline for a solution.
Beijing visit
On his plan to visit Beijing on May 9, he said: "This (the incursion dispute) is not an issue for which the foreign minister would go rushing to Beijing… We hope the matter will be resolved by then. Should it not be by then, it will be a part of the agenda."
Asked whether India's response to China's incursion was so far timid, the minister said: "The response should not be seen as timid or robust or whether it is proportional. This (incursion) is adverse to our interests. The fact that they happen to be where we don't want them to be is established. We don't wish them to be there."
Army's view
The army is understood to have recommended a more robust defensive posture along the Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control to the government.
Khurshid insisted that the army's view was being factored into the government's response. The minister categorically said the issue was being sorted out at the military level. "The military perception and point of view has been factored in. The opinion of the armed forces is very important. And we have largely left it to the army to handle it. "
The minister insisted that an isolated incident should not be allowed to affect the major investments both India and China have made in the process, for the costs are very high for both the Asian giants, both being nuclear powers.
Asked if China was behaving like a regional bully, Khurshid said: "This (current incursion into sub-sector north near Daulat Beg Oldi) incident should be seen as a local incident. Both the militaries are attempting to sort it out. Whatever one might say about the Chinese style and the Indian style (of diplomacy), I'd rather say we preserve the Indian style of drawing historical parallels."
Asked if the political leadership was not keen on adopting the army's suggestion on robust response, Khurshid said: "Ultimately the decision is taken by the political leadership and we are not out of sync with the armed forces. That's why we have left it to them to handle it, of course in the broad framework of mechanism established by the government.
As the government mulled ways to end border deadlock with China, the situation at ground zero - the face-off point between the Indian and Chinese troops around 30 kms south of Daulat Beg Oldie in Ladakh - continued to be calm.
At the moment, both the sides are maintaining same numbers at the face-off site.
There is no vehicular movement or helicopters flying in the area. The Chinese tents are located around 500 meters east of the face-off site in the dry bed of Raki Nala.
Around 15-20 soldiers are stationed at the face-off site at any given point of time while the rest remain in the tents.
Read more at: India is no pushover, we are not scared of China: Salman Khurshid : Neighbours, News - India Today
