India’s foreign minister has hinted he could cancel a planned trip to Beijing if no progress is made in resolving a row over an alleged incursion by Chinese troops deep inside Indian-claimed territory.
The reported Chinese infiltration across the disputed Himalayan border has strained ties between the nuclear-armed neighbors, whose relations have long been checkered by mutual suspicion — a legacy of a 1962 border war.
“I can’t say we have satisfaction [from Beijing] at this stage,” said Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Salman Khurshid, who announced last week he would head for China on Wednesday to discuss the standoff.
Photo: EPA
Speaking to Indian TV channels while traveling to Iran on an official visit, Khurshid said in news footage aired on Saturday that New Delhi was “keeping channels of communications open.”
The minister, who has declared both countries have a mutual interest in not allowing the dispute to “destroy” long-term progress in ties, said his trip to Beijing was still on.
However, he suggested he might reconsider his travel plans if there is no progress in resolving the dispute.
India has not “reached a stage where we need to review that decision [to visit Beijing],” Khurshid said, but added it would not be wise to use the word “certainty” in connection with his visit.
“We remain in the dialogue process; we hope the dialogue will be successful. As of now, I can’t say that [dialogue] has been successful,” he said.
The row is also casting a cloud over a planned visit to New Delhi by Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) later this month.
The informal border separating China and India is known as the Line of Actual Control. While it has never been formally demarcated, the countries have signed two accords to maintain peace in frontier areas. Small incursions across the contested boundary are common, but it is rare for either country to set up camps in disputed territory.
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