Border accord with China bid to avoid tensions: Antony

Defence Minister A.K. Antony Wednesday said the inking of a new border accord with China was a "sincere attempt" by both countries to avoid tensions on the border and would help to quickly solve any face to face situations that may arise.

The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement inked during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Beijing last week "is a sincere attempt by both sides to tackle the border situation and avoid tensions on the border", Antony said.

He was responding to a question during an interaction with media persons on the sidelines of an event at thbe Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis here.

Asked if it would prevent situations like the April-May three-week face off between troops of both sides in Depsang in Ladakh area, Antony said he cannot foretell if it would prevent such incidents.

"I am not an astrologer," he said.

He added: "The fact that we have adhered to certain procedures does not mean nothing will happen, but there are mechanisms to immediately intervene and find solutions. And both sides are making sincere attempt for peace and tranquillity on the border."

The defence minister said the BDCA would help to tackle face-off situations "as quickly as possible".

He said the fact that the BDCA also called for more contacts between the armed forces of India and China was a positive factor.

"Another development is there will be more contacts at the military to military level, not only at the higher level but at the field level also. The idea is to develop more trust between the two militaries," said Antony.

"Let us hope for the best," he added.

The BDCA is aimed to tackle face-off situations along the 4,000 km Line of Actual Control.