India Remains Committed to Resolving Border Issues through Peaceful Dialogue: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: India remains committed to resolving the current issues in border areas through peaceful dialogue and consultations, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today.

In his statement in Lok Sabha on the current situation on Eastern Border in Ladakh, Singh retierated that India remains committed to resolving the current issues in our border areas through peaceful dialogue and consultations.

“It was in pursuit of this objective that I met my Chinese counterpart on 4th September in Moscow and had an in-depth discussion with him. I conveyed in clear terms our concerns related to the actions of the Chinese side, including amassing of large number of troops, their aggressive behavior and attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo that were in violation of the bilateral agreements”, the Defence Minister told the Lok Sabha.

The Minister further said that he made it clear that even as India wanted to peacefully resolve the issue and would like the Chinese side to work with us, there should also be no doubt about our determination to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he added.

China continues to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq. kms in the Union Territory of Ladakh. In addition, under the so-called Sino-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq. km. of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China.

China also claims approximately 90,000 sq. kms. of Indian territory in the Eastern Sector of the India-China boundary in Arunachal Pradesh, Singh further informed the House.