Asia-Pacific

China refutes territory grab story

By Cheng Guangjin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-13 09:28

China has lived up to its promises on the border issue with India, the foreign ministry said yesterday, refuting a recent Indian media report that claimed New Delhi had lost "substantial" land to China over the years.

India officials had noted that there were some differences in the maps drawn by some agencies of the India-controlled Kashmir region. They said that was because India had lost some territory in the region to China over the past 20-25 years, the Times of India reported on Sunday.

"There is a lack of institutional memory in various agencies as well as clear policy on this issue, which in the long run, has resulted in loss of territory by India in favor of China," the minutes of a meeting attended by officials from India's Ministry of Home Affairs, Army and the regional Kashmir government showed last month.

Responding to the report, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said: "China and India have already reached consensus on the border issue. Before it is completely resolved, both countries will endeavor to maintain peace and stability in the border areas and will not let the border issue affect the general picture of China and India's cooperation."

"China has been keeping its promises," Jiang said at a regular press briefing.

Disputes about the border have lasted for years, as the neighbors had never officially demarcated their borders.

Last month, a road was built near a disputed area near the line of control by authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir, and the construction was stopped after objections were raised by the Chinese side, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In October last year, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh toured and addressed an election rally in the so-called disputed territory of "Arunachal Pradesh", over which China expressed "strong dissatisfaction", Xinhua said.

"It's a waste of time to constantly criticize each other. China and India need to understand each other and make an acceptable compromise," said Hu Shisheng, a South Asia Studies scholar at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

However, if India wants to resolve the dispute by asking China to accept the current status of the border, it would be impractical, Hu said.

"As there has been no boundary between the two countries, it is incorrect to say China has claimed India's territory," Hu pointed out.

"The disputes should be solved through dialogue, and only the adjustments that are acceptable to both sides will make sense," Hu said.