In this photograph provided by the Indian Army, tanks pull back from the banks of Pangong Tso lake region, in Ladakh along the India-China border on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021.
| Photo Credit: AP

Citing news reports of a Chinese military base being built near Pangong Tso, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge attacked the Narendra Modi government demanding that the country be taken into confidence on the border situation with China.

Mr. Kharge shared a news report which said that the Chinese military had built bunkers to store weapons and fuel, and hardened shelters for armoured vehicles in an area around Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh. Mr. Kharge asked, “How can China build a military base near Pangong Tso on land which was under Indian occupation until May 2020?”

Mr. Kharge held the Narendra Modi government responsible for not maintaining the status quo ante at the LAC, with India losing possession of 26 patrolling points out of 65, including points in the Depsang Plains, Demchok and Gogra Hot Springs area

“The Indian National Congress once again reiterates its demand to take the nation into confidence on the border situation at the LAC. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our valiant soldiers,” Mr. Kharge said in a post on X. He also recounted PM Modi’s various statements on the prolonged standoff at LAC. He said this was the 5th year of giving clean chits to China. He cited, PM Modi’s interview in the run up to the elections on 10th April to foreign press where, as per Mr. Kharge, the PM failed to put forth India’s case strongly. On 13th April, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar too, in an interview said, “China has not occupied any of our land,” exposing Modi Govt’s “meek policy” towards China.

Mr. Kharge underlined that on 4th July, Mr. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart. During the meeting, he spoke about “respecting the LAC and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas…” But parallelly, Mr. Kharge said, “China continues to be belligerent, occupying our territory and constructing a military base at Sirijap, reportedly land that was under Indian control.”

New Delhi:

Newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong on Friday said that India and China boast of being time-honoured civilizations and are each other’s important neighbours.

In an interview with China Global Television Network, Xu Feihong shared his first reaction to being appointed as the Indian ambassador after a considerable hiatus and said that it is an honourable mission and a sacred duty.

“I will do my best to deepen understanding and friendship between the two peoples, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and improve and advance the bilateral relationship,” he said.

He expressed confidence in getting support and assistance from the Indian government from all sectors as he began his ambassadorial duties.

Emphasising his priorities, he said that both China and India boast time-honoured civilizations and are each other’s important neighbours.

He further stressed that India and China are the biggest emerging markets and developing countries of the world.

“As President Xi Jinping said If China and India speak with one voice, the whole world will listen; if the two countries join hands, the whole world will pay attention,” Feihong noted.

“I will follow the important consensus between our leaders, reach out to friends from all sectors of India, earnestly enhance the understanding and trust between the two sides, work to restore exchanges and cooperation in various fields and create favourable conditions for a sound and steady China-India relationship,” he added.

He further assured that this is in the interest of both countries, the region and the world, and is also what the people and the international community hope to see.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong is welcomed on arrival in Delhi, on Friday. MEA officials, Chinese Embassy officials and the Dean of Diplomatic Corps Ambassador Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam of Eritrea to India welcomed the Chinese Ambassador.
| Photo Credit: ANI

After 18 months of China not having an Ambassador in India, senior diplomat Xu Feihong arrived in Delhi to assume office as the 17th Ambassador to India on Friday, Chinese government-run media CGTN reported.

Mr. Xu said that his priority is to work to restore exchanges and cooperation in various fields and create favourable conditions for a sound and steady India-China relationship.

“President Xi [Jinping] and Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi have agreed on the important assessment that China and India are cooperation partners and not competitors. And reached an important common understanding that our two countries are each other’s development opportunities and not threats. This should serve as the fundamental guidelines for the growth of bilateral relations,” he told CGTN. 

“As President Xi Jinping said, if China and India speak with one voice, the whole world will listen. If both countries join hands, the whole world will pay attention,” he added. Mr. Xu will succeed Sun Weidong, who completed his tenure as Ambassador to India in October 2022.

Ties between the two countries have been strained since tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), following China’s multiple transgressions starting in April 2020 and violent clashes in Galwan in June 2020, which resulted in casualties on both sides. 

Mr. Xu said that he looks forward and trusts that he will have the support and assistance of the Indian government and friends from all sectors. “Both India and China are each other’s important neighbours and the biggest emerging markets and developing countries of the world. I will follow the important consensus between our leaders and reach out to friends from all sectors of India,” he said.

He said that the world is facing multiple global challenges such as climate change, food and energy prices, weak economic recovery and so on, and closer communication and coordination on global and regional affairs will not only bring opportunities to both the countries and the world but also add stability and positivity to international relations. “It will have an important positive impact on the development of a fair and reasonable international order,” he said.

Mr. Xu’s appointment comes against the backdrop of both India and China last month stating that there should be better relations between the countries.

In April, in an interview with U.S. magazine Newsweek,Mr. Modi broke his silence on ties with China and the LAC stand-off since April 2020, calling for the two sides to “urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us”. “I hope and believe that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, we will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquility in our borders,” Mr. Modi had said.