New Delhi - India's top policy-making body on China is to meet Thursday against the backdrop of reports of increased incursions by Chinese troops along the two countries' 3,500-kilometre border. The meeting in New Delhi called by National Security Advisor MK Narayanan is expected to be attended by top defence, home and foreign ministry officials along with chiefs of the three armed forces and intelligence agencies.
India has been so far downplayed recent media reports of incursions by Chinese troops across the border in thenorthern state of Jammu and Kashmir and firing across the disputed boundary in eastern Arunachal Pradesh.
The meeting will take stock of the plans to upgrade infrastructure and construction of roads in border areas in states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, the NDTV news channel reported citing official sources.
The two Asian countries share a 3,500-kilometre border, largely along the Himalayan mountain range, and much of it is unmarked and disputed.
India on Tuesday termed as "factually incorrect" a report in the Times of India newspaper that two troopers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police were injured in firing by Chinese troops across the border in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Times of India also reported that the People's Liberation Army of China had crossed into India six times since January according to field posts of the Indian Army.
China claims 90,000 square kilometres of Arunachal Pradesh as its territory and recently objected to India allowing the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, to visit the region.
The Dalai Lama, who escaped to India in 1959 after the Chinese occupied Tibet, is scheduled to visit Tawang, a monastery town in Arunachal Pradesh in November.
"Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India and the Dalai Lama is free to go anywhere in India," Foreign Minister SM Krishna told IBN7 television channel Wednesday.
"The only question is that he is not expected to comment on political developments," Krishna said.
The Indian Army had mobilized troops to forward posts in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern border with China as a part of exercise named Operation Alert, the IANS news agency quoted a top defence official as saying. But the unnamed official also said the exercise was an annual feature.
India and China, which fought a short war in 1962, have held 13 rounds of negotiations to resolve border disputes.
