Settling border issue critical for India-China ties: NSA Ajit Doval

Settlement of the border issue is "critical" for India-China ties, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said on Friday, as he called for a "larger plan" for "tackling" that country to resolve all ticklish matters.

Doval also said that while India's relations with China "are looking up" there was a need to remain at a "very very high alert".

Speaking at the annual KF Rustamji lecture, Doval, who leads the Indian side at the talks of Special Representatives with China, also dwelt on China's emergence as world's economic power and its relations with Pakistan.

The event is organised by the BSF in memory of Rustamji, the founder Director General of of the force who retired in late 1960's but was reemployed as first Special Secretary in Ministry of Home Affairs. He is the only police officer who has been awarded with Padma Vibushan, country's second highest civilian award.

Doval, a former Intelligence Bureau Chief, said "...we might have to see China border in a different way once the boundary is settled....

"We have got a very long border we have got 3,488-km long border, a very difficult and mountainous terrain snow-clad...now for the bilateral relations with China, border is the critical and vital issue," he said speaking on the topic 'Challenges of Securing India's Borders; Strategising the Response'.

He said all advancement made in the "relationship" with China gets centred around and becomes important on settlement of the border. Doval said while the bilateral relations with China "are looking up" there was a need to remain at a "very very high alert".

"We are particularly concerned about the Eastern sector where the claims have been made on Tawang(in Arunachal Pradesh) which is totally in contravention of accepted principles," Doval said and expressed surprise that while McMahon line was agreed till Burma by China, the same was not accepted thereafter.

The line is named after Sir Henry McMahon, foreign secretary of the British-run Government of India and the chief negotiator of settling disputes with China in 1914.

"The fact is there is settled population in these areas particularly in Tawang and other areas which have been participating in the national mainstream all through.

"So, these are the ticklish issues. But these ticklish issues have to be talked about, deliberated and worked out, he said, adding there was a need for working out a "larger plan for tackling China".

The comments by Doval came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to China asked Beijing to "reconsider its approach on some issues that hold us back", an apparent reference to the long-pending boundary issue. 

Doval said there have been a series of Special Representative talks between India and China on the boundary issue but no headway has been made so far.

"There have been a series of Special Representative level talks, about 17 rounds and they haven't reached anywhere. But it is also true that for last 30 years we have not exchanged a single bullet.

"But, it is also true that the number of intrusions have gone up and down. Fortunately, in the last one year the intrusions have become much less and some of the intrusions which have been made were controlled," Doval said.

He said China is an important country which is going to take over as the world's greatest economy.

He spoke about China's "special status" relations with Pakistan and said "both these countries are not that type of democracy that we understand as an enabling democracy." About the polices of Narendra Modi government, the National Security Advisor said even before he (Modi) took over as Prime Minister of the country he had taken initiative by reaching out to all neighbouring countries (inviting their leaders to his swearing-in ceremony) as he understood that India's neighbourhood is the "centre point of foreign policy".

"Thereafter, the Prime Minister had taken efforts to improve bilateral relations and use all his efforts to see that," he said.

However, while extending a hand to neighbours, Modi is committed to the fact that India's security interest are fully protected and that the country builds up its capabilities "despite some aberrations by some of the countries in border areas," Doval said.

Maintaining that deterrence was necessary for avoiding issues on borders, he said, "conflicts are best avoided if you have got the deterrence."

On border matters with Pakistan, Doval said it was an area where the country was facing issues like terrorism, drugs, counterfeit currency "and you name and you have it".

As part of Pakistan's strategy on harping on Kashmir issue, he said, "They (Pakistan) neither have any support nor any locus standi."

Surprisingly, Doval spoke about the 106 KM border that pre-1947 era India shared with Afghanistan. This area is now under Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

"... We don't have a contiguous border but it is of great strategic significance. We want peace and tranquility in this area and that it does not become an epicentre for terrorism which is then utilised by some other country," he said hinting at Pakistan as the area is currently under its administration.

Speaking on border issues with Bangladesh, Doval said the present regime has been "extremely helpful and friendly" and with their support India has been able to control insurgency in the northeast to a great extent.

He said the flow of illegal immigrants was a daunting task and the government was identifying them and deporting them as taking a legal action against them is a "very very cumbersome process".

Tackling flow of illegal immigrants was an area where India requires more help and cooperation with Bangladesh, he said.

"Of late, one more dimension has been added that some of the terrorists from that areas finding their bases in some of our bordering states and utilising them for launching so called jihad not only in Bangladesh but also collaborating with the groups operating within India," he said.

Talking about Nepal border, he said while there is no problem like terrorism and others but "we know that Nepal has been an operating base for the ISI for a long time for their various covert operations they have launched".

"It is also base for organised crimes and criminals who have been using it and operating from there. Also, some of the terrorist and militant elements have been passing from there, he said but allayed fears adding there has been "excellent security coordination" between various agencies and government of Nepal.

Talking about Myanmar border, Doval said there is a problem of northeast insurgency, drugs smuggling and insurgent camps.

"With Bhutan we have relatively a much better situation... but we have insurgent groups there... Bodo groups are there," he said.

In all "discourses" of Indian border guarding forces, he said the issues about force levels, equipment, communication, funds, morale of troops are very important.

"But what about the larger picture? Is is not necessary that they (border guarding forces) are also the stakeholders in the overall scenario of border security," he asked. He also suggested that forces like BSF, ITBP and SSB should conduct studies about their immediate neighbourhood.

"Has there been any study of such a kind which tells us about the other side like their ethos, pattern of deployment, economic prosperity in border areas, attitude of people? Border knowledge largely depends on the intimate knowledge on the events and developments on the other side," he said.

Going further he said "India's border with Afghanistan is 106km. We don't have a contentious border (along Afghanistan) but it is of great strategic significance.

"Whatever happens in Afghanistan...we want peace and tranquility in this area and that it (this border) does not become an epicenter for terrorism which is then utilised by some other country," Doval said hinting at Pakistan as the area is currently under Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

He asked the forces to upgrade their capabilities from being a 'watch and ward' unit to becoming full fledged stakeholders of a nations security. Doval said the border population is a "very very critical" element of a country's border management and no country whose border population is "dissatisfied" can be "secure".

He asked these forces to take an "active role" in helping the border population in addressing their day-to-day problems and issues.

Doval said said the population living on Indian borders has to be integrated with the mainstream and enable them to develop enhanced nationalist ideals in them.

He also urged the commanding officers of these forces to enhance their capabilities and get better intelligence by giving less importance to routine tasks. The NSA urged the forces to better use databases like that of Aadhaar to check the credentials of bona fide people in border areas.

He said the government was working on a new plan to give an enhanced and dedicated satellite-imagery based data to central security forces on the borders as he mentioned that an state-of-the-art facility has been opened in Gurgaon to monitor the activity of any boat or floating vessel that enters India's exclusive maritime zone or territorial waters.

Doval said a strategic corridor in the east of the country connecting up to Laos and Cambodia will be operational soon. He added that a Committee under the Joint Intelligence Committee chief has been constituted by the government to see if the security duties at the Myanmar border will remain with the Assam Rifles or would be handed over to forces like BSF.