China should strengthen control over border with India: expert

BEIJING: Against the backdrop of reports that India was planning to form a new mountain strike corps to be deployed along the border with China, a noted expert here has said the Communist nation should strengthen its supervision and control over the region.

"China should strengthen its supervision and control over the border area with India," Fu Xiaoqiang, from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the state-run Global Times.

He was reacting to reports that India planned to form a new mountain strike corps comprising around 40,000 soldiers during its 12th Five-Year Plan Period from 2012 to 2017, at an estimated cost of Rs 810 billion (USD 14.9 billion).

Fu said the plan to form a new corps "shows India sees China as its prior military competitor."

He said the proposal has little relation to a military exercise carried out by the Chinese Air Force over the Tibet Autonomous Region in December and claimed that it is part of India's overall plan to strengthen its military power along its border with China.

Fu said China would not initiate disputes with any country, but was "capable of handling possible disputes in the region."

The Global Times report was timed with the conclusion of the two-day Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) between Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma and Deputy Chairman of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Lt Gen Qi Jianguo here.

During the meeting, the two sides agreed on a plan for bilateral military exchanges for 2013, including their next joint military exercise, a press release issued by the Indian embassy after the talks said.

The two sides agreed to expand bilateral exchanges covering their armies, navies and air forces. This would facilitate separate talks among the three wings.