Right-wing Hindu activists remove a police barricade during a protest against the incursion by Chinese troops inside Indian territory, in New Delhi, yesterday.
New Delhi: Dismissing talk of softness in approach in the stand-off with China, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid yesterday said both sides have a mechanism to amicably resolve border incidents and the Indian government had a “very determined view” that its perception of the LAC is preserved and any violation “put right”.
In an interview to NDTV news channel, Khurshid said India shares a “much larger relationship with China” and the world is looking at both countries as the future of not only Asia but of “a vibrant more successful world of tomorrow”.
“We don’t want to be dogs in the manger because someone’s jingoism has to be satisfied, we don’t need certificates of patriotic zeal from anyone,” said Khurshid, referring to criticism of what is perceived as the government’s “soft” approach in dealing with the border incursion by Chinese troops in Depsang area of Ladakh.
He said India is confident that the mechanism in place, including flag meetings by local army commanders, would be able to resolve the stand-off.
“...we don’t want to be distracted by issues thrust” into for what is “for us a very clear perspective and clear determined view that we must ensure what our perception is of the LAC (Line of Actual Control), is preserved and that any violation of that perception is put right.”
He dismissed as his critics’ “inability to understand diplomatic language and gestures” their attacking his comparison of the border incident to acne that can be soothed with ointment.
Such criticism, he said, does not deserve a response.
When the metaphor was taken forward and he was told if reports of Chinese troops setting up more tents there could be compared to a “full-fledged acne eruption”, Khurshid, answering in the same vein, said: “Depends how scratchy you feel. I think the scratching that one sees is not so much about China, but is about us, our government having the competence, composure, confidence, ability and determination to resolve, what should be, and we believe will be, resolved.”
Khurshid, is going to Beijing on May 9. IANS
