New Delhi: After Pakistan, China too is creating a dispute at the border with India as if it was part of a “mission”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday, in a direct criticism of the two countries together for creating tensions along India’s northern and western frontiers spanning around 7,000 kms.
The defence minister, after inaugurating 44 bridges at an online event, also said that the situation along borders with both the countries remains tense.
While the Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a bitter border row for over five months in eastern Ladakh, the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan has also been volatile with Pakistani forces relentlesly trying to push terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir.
“You are well aware of the conditions created along our northern and eastern borders. First it was Pakistan, and now also by China, as if a border dispute is being created under a mission. We have a border of about 7,000 km with these countries where the tension continues,” Singh said.
There have been apprehensions in the defence establishment about possible collusion between China and Pakistan to mount pressure on India through their activities along the borders.
A majority of these bridges are expected to significantly improve movement of troops in areas along the border with China in Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors, officials said.
Singh said in the challenging times of COVID-19 and despite the border tensions and disputes caused by Pakistan and China, the country was not only resolutely facing them but also bringing about historical changes in all sectors of development.
Amid the border standoff with China, India is expediting work on several key projects including on a strategic road linking Darcha in Himachal Pradesh with Ladakh that will criss-cross a number of high-altitude snow-bound passes. (PTI)
