Rajnath Singh states India is committed to peaceful resolution of LAC dispute
Defence minister Rajnath Singh addressed the Parliament today and added that India is strong enough to guard its borders
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New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh addressed Parliament on September 15 and added that India is strong enough to guard its borders strongly.
He said, "I want to assert that we are committed to peacefully resolving our disputes along the borders. To achieve this, I met my Chinese counterpart on September 4 and had an in-depth discussion with him. I clearly put forth our issues in front of the Chinese representative which is their aggressive behaviour and attempts to unilaterally change the status quo. I also stressed that we want to resolve this issue peacefully and we want the Chinese side to work with us on it. I also clarified that we are determined to protect Indian sovereignty and territorial integrity."
He also added that the Union government has allocated sufficient budget for the development of infrastructure.
"This has also been possible because the government has prioritised border infrastructure in the last few years. In the past few decades, China has excessively enhanced its border infrastructure due to which their border deployment has also increased. In response, our government has also doubled our infrastructure budget. Consequently, several roads and bridges have also been built in border areas. Not only has the local population benefited from it but our armed forces have also received better logistical support."
On September 4, he met with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in Moscow. The two and a half-hour-long talk that began around 9:30 pm (IST) at a prominent hotel in Moscow was focused on ways to resolve the prolonged border standoff in Ladakh. In his meeting with Chinese Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh maintained that the action of the PLA troops was in violation of bilateral agreements. While noting that the Indian Army had taken a very responsible approach towards border management, he reiterated that the troops would leave no stone unturned to protect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as per reports.
