READ ALSO:

Modi govt to promote civilian settlements along India-China border

Indian troops patrolling near a stretch of the

line of actual control

with China in Arunachal Pradesh.

A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

(With agency inputs)

BEIJING: China on Wednesday expressed concern at India’s plans to build a 1800km long road along the border, and asked New Delhi not to complicate the situation further.“Before final settlement is reached we hope that India will not take any action that may further complicate the situation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.China was working on the premise that India may never create a physical challenge in the form of a road along the McMahon Line , knowledgeable sources said.China seemed to have been caught unawares because the border plan might change the terms of negotiations between the two sides.Beijing has repeatedly rejected the McMahon Line saying it cannot be the basis of boundary negotiations with India. India’s move can upset Chinese plans to deal with the border issue.“We should jointly safeguard the peace and tranquillity of the border area and create favourable conditions for the final settlement of the border issue,” Hong said sticking to the foreign ministry’s familiar line.“We still need to verify the specifics. The boundary issue between China and India is left by colonial past,” he said while indicating that China would not give up its claim on Arunachal Pradesh. “We need to deal with this issue properly. There is a dispute about the east part of the China India border”.In effect, China wants to continue with boundary talks assuming that the boundary line was never drawn. Beijing officials regularly argue that Chinese troops have never intruded into the Indian border because the border line has never been defined or demarcated.The Modi government revealed the road plan after Chinese President Xi Jinping asked his military brass to be prepared to “win regional wars” almost after returning from a visit to India.Talking about the exchange of fire on the India-Pakistan border, Hong said, “China is highly attentive to the situation. As a neighbour and friend of both Pakistan and India, we hope the two sides can exercise restraint and stop trading fire and stick to dialogue and consultation, keep the situation in check and properly deal with the issues”.“They should work together to jointly safeguard the peace, stability and development of South Asia,” ministry spokesman said.India’s concerns arise out of extensive road, rail air network developed by China in Tibet, which could be pivotal in moving troops and equipment speedily in the rugged Himalayan region. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as a part of Southern Tibet and disputes the McMahon line.The Chinese position is that the border dispute is confined to 2,000km, mostly in Arunachal Pradesh, while India asserts that the dispute covered the western side of the border spanning about 4,000km.The two countries have held 17 rounds of special representative talks so far to resolve the dispute.