Weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India visited China, New Delhi plans to station as many as 8,000 more officers in the border area of the two nations to prevent Chinese incursions, overseas Chinese news outlet Duowei reports.
There are plans for 6,000 more border police to strengthen control of the Ladakh region of Indian-controlled Kashmir, while the interior ministry has approved an increase of as many as 8,000 border police to allow troops stationed in the area, where bad weather is commonplace, to rotate.
Ladakh is the site of the standoff between Chinese and Indian troops in in 2013 and the region has always been a flashpoint for border conflict.
The two sides have entered into consultations over the border and activity has often taken place around times when the leaders of the two sides have paid visits to the other.
On the latest occasion, President Xi Jinping of China discussed the border issue with Modi, with PLA troops agreeing to retreat nearly 2,000 meters from the disputed area in what was intended as a goodwill gesture. Modi agreed to accelerate the border negotiations in a bid to find a resolution as early as possible.
Less than one month after Modi’s China trip, however, India once again increased its troop numbers at the border.
India is seeking to join the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure investment Bank (AIIB) and the “Belt and Road” initiative showing that China has the potential to lead India to achieve joint development for both sides. Such a comparison of one side stronger and the other side weaker will be the source to stabilize regional status, and the way to resolve the territorial problems, the report said.
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said his government is ready to unveil its final proposals for resolving border issues with India when he visited the country in June last year.
Source from India Defence News.
