New Delhi:
With China refusing to withdraw its soldiers from a camp set up in Ladakh 19 kilometres on the Indian side of the de-facto border in Ladakh, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid's trip to Beijing later this month appears tenuous.
Sources say the government "is in two minds" about the visit, scheduled for May 9, and may call it off if China "doesn't adequately respond to India's concerns."
Earlier this week, Mr Khurshid told NDTV that his visit would not be called off. The re-think appears to be motivated, at least in part, by sharp criticism from other parties for a weak response by the government to a show of aggression by China.
The platoon of Chinese soldiers slipped across the border in the middle of the night on April 15, while two helicopters provided cover. They have pitched five tents in the barren Depsang Valley.
China denies any incursion; its soldiers have refused to move back over the so-called Line of Actual Control. Three flag meetings between local army commanders from both sides have failed to broker a compromise.
The crisis looms over a planned May 20 trip by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Delhi. His decision to make India his first trip abroad since taking office two months ago had been seen as an important gesture toward strengthening ties between rival powers that have longstanding border disputes but also growing trade relations.
The official stand of the government, however, remains that the Foreign Minister "intends to go to China." A ministry spokesperson also said today that "details of the visit of the Chinese premier are also being worked out".
The opposition and a crucial ally of the government - Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party - have been sharp in their criticism of the government. "China realizes that India has a weak government, and a prime minister who is powerless," said Yashwant Sinha of the BJP.
Mr Yadav, a former Defence Minister, derided the government for being "cowardly and incompetent."