India should insist on a clarification from China: Yashwant Sinha

Expressing serious apprehension over a Chinese General's warning to India, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Friday said New Delhi should seek a clarification from Beijing on this issue, and added that Defence Minister A.K. Antony should consider cancelling his visit if no explanation is given.

"The Defence Minister of India is going on a visit China and, therefore, for the Chinese General to make a statement just before his visit is not only significant, but also objectionable in the extreme," Sinha said.

"My suggestion will be that the Government of India should insist that there should be a clarification from the Chinese Government before the Defence Minister's visit and if no such clarification is forthcoming then the Defence Minister should even considered cancelling his visit to China," he added.

Chinese General Major General Luo Yuan has warned India against provoking 'new trouble' by increasing its military deployment at the border.

Major General Luo Yuan, who was talking to the foreign media in Beijing, said 'there is no denying that there are tensions and problems between China and India particularly at the border areas'.

"There is still problem of 90,000 sq km of territory still occupied by the Indian side. These are the problems left over from history and we should look at it with cool head," he said.

Major General Luo Yuan, who was responding to a question about People's Liberation Army's (PLA) views on India-China relations in the backdrop of Antony's visit, said: "The Indian side should not provoke new problems and increase the military deployment at the border areas and start new trouble."

Antony is the first Indian Defence Minister in seven years to visit China. He will have formal talks with his Chinese counterpart General Chang Wanquan during his four-day official visit to Beijing.

The recent border incursion by Chinese troops, finalisation of the Border Defence Coordination Agreement (BDCA) to maintain peace at the disputed borders as well as resumption of bilateral military exercises is on the top priority of Antony's agenda for talks with the Chinese leadership.

He is also expected to call on Premier Li Keqiang, besides visiting a military installation and command centre.

Antony's visit to China comes just days after the 16th round of border talks between National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi here during which the two sides had a threadbare discussion on mutual concerns, especially the incursion of China's People's Liberation Army troops into the Depsang Valley on April 15.