‘Rlys to set up station near Indo-China border soon’
13 April 2015 4:11 AM IST
Indian Railways will soon set up a station in Arunachal Pradesh near the India-China border, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Saturday. “A draft of the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) is ready and will be signed soon,” Parrikar said, adding that he has spoken in detail about the project to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
The Defence Minister said that the “gravity” of the border issue between China and India has come down as far as Arunachal Pradesh is concerned. Parrikar said that instances of transgression by China into the Indian Territory have reduced in the last one year owing to confidence building measures between the two sides.
“The border dispute with China is not new. It has been there right from the time of India’s Independence. It is an imaginary line and there are some issues, which are related to perception,” Parrikar said, ahead of PM Modi’s scheduled visit to China next month.
“In the last few years, we have taken certain steps. We have built confidence and the dispute has frozen. Compared to last year, this year, the (instances of) transgression is less,” the Defence Minister said, adding, “Their army walks into the territory, which we consider as ours. But these confusion areas have reduced during the last one year.” Responding to a question whether or not Modi would take up the border dispute issue during his visit, Parrikar said: “I think when he (Modi) goes there, he can sort out some of the issues.”
China had sent alarm bells ringing a few weeks back, with its plans to build a 540-kilometre strategic high-speed rail link between Tibet and Nepal passing through a tunnel under Mt Everest, a move that could raise alarm in India about China’s growing influence in its neighbourhood. The rail line was expected to be completed by 2020. However, there has been no word on the estimated cost of the project.
The Defence Minister said that the “gravity” of the border issue between China and India has come down as far as Arunachal Pradesh is concerned. Parrikar said that instances of transgression by China into the Indian Territory have reduced in the last one year owing to confidence building measures between the two sides.
“The border dispute with China is not new. It has been there right from the time of India’s Independence. It is an imaginary line and there are some issues, which are related to perception,” Parrikar said, ahead of PM Modi’s scheduled visit to China next month.
“In the last few years, we have taken certain steps. We have built confidence and the dispute has frozen. Compared to last year, this year, the (instances of) transgression is less,” the Defence Minister said, adding, “Their army walks into the territory, which we consider as ours. But these confusion areas have reduced during the last one year.” Responding to a question whether or not Modi would take up the border dispute issue during his visit, Parrikar said: “I think when he (Modi) goes there, he can sort out some of the issues.”
China had sent alarm bells ringing a few weeks back, with its plans to build a 540-kilometre strategic high-speed rail link between Tibet and Nepal passing through a tunnel under Mt Everest, a move that could raise alarm in India about China’s growing influence in its neighbourhood. The rail line was expected to be completed by 2020. However, there has been no word on the estimated cost of the project.
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