India won’t give up claim: FM: Land ceded by Pakistan to China
By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Dec 14: Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukharjee, facing opposition criticism for advocating flexibility in border talks with China and Pakistan, reassured parliament on Thursday that New Delhi was not about to give up its claim on territory "illegally held" by Beijing or the part ceded by Pakistan to China.
He told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that India has to be prepared for a give and take in border talks with China and Pakistan and should be prepared to shun rigid claims of national sovereignty if the talks are to be meaningful.
On Thursday, Mr Mukharjee gave an account of the contours of the territorial dispute to the Rajya Sabha. He said China was illegally occupying approximately 38,000 square km in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Pakistan had illegally ceded 5,180 square km of Indian territory to China under the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963," he said.
Mr Mukharjee on Thursday told the Lok Sabha that New Delhi had been holding discussions with Islamabad on the border issue even though the Indian Parliament had passed a resolution on Jammu and Kashmir that it was an integral part of India.
"If it becomes the condition that it (any state) has been declared as an integral part of the country, then it is not negotiable... Then there is no point in having discussions on Jammu and Kashmir because this House has passed a resolution declaring it as an integral part of India. We have also passed a similar resolution for Arunachal Pradesh," he said.
Mr Mukharjee was responding to a question by Leader of the Opposition L. K. Advani on Wednesday on Chinese Ambassador Sun Yuxi's reported statement that New Delhi and Beijing were negotiating their disputed border.
"When you discuss the boundary issue, boundary is on the land and not in the sky, and it belongs to some part of the countries concerned. But whether it is acceptable or nor acceptable, that is the issue being discussed by the two special representatives (of India and China)… When you finally arrive at conclusions, some adjustments will take place," Mr Mukharjee said.
