India downplays China’s grouse
India on Saturday sought to play down the Chinese objection to construction of a road at Demchok in Ladakh near the McMahon Line in Jammu and Kashmir.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said the Chinese objection was the result of “differing perceptions” of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China. She said India had already taken up the issue with China during a flag-meeting on the LAC. The Jammu and Kashmir government recently stopped construction of an eight-km-long road in the remote Demchok area of Ladakh after objections from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
“This is not a new issue. Such issues have cropped up earlier also in the discourse relating to the boundary discussions between India and China,” Rao said.
Reacting to media reports about ULFA military chief Paresh Barua’s escape from Bangladesh to China in the wake of a crackdown by Dhaka, the foreign secretary said that India was in touch with its neighbours to get the rebel leader as he was wanted in India for “crime against State”.
“We are in touch with our neighbours about these matters. And we expect all our neighbours to behave responsibly on these issues,” said Rao.
