Rajnath SIngh addressed the troops of ITBP, which guards the India-China border. (File photograph)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the deadlock between India and China will be resolved soon and expressed hope that China would also take positive steps in this regard. "We also expect positive move from China," Rajnath Singh told the reporters.
Earlier, addressing jawans of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police - which guards the 4,057-km Sino-Indian border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh -- Mr Singh said while India is not aggressive and has never initiated an attack, it would not compromise on its security.
"Our security forces have all the power to protect Indian borders," the minister said. "We don't believe in expansionist policy. We want good relations with all our neighbours. We hope China will also understand," he said.
There is no world power that can threaten India, Mr Singh said, adding that when Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister, leaders of all neighbouring countries were invited in a gesture of goodwill.
The minister also quoted former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who used to maintain that maintaining good relations with neighbours is very important for any nation to move forward.
The minister also praised efforts made by ITBP jawans to guard India's security along the India-China border. The ITBP soldiers are among the troops involved in the recent scuffle with Chinese soldiers in Ladakh, a video of which had surfaced over the week-end. The video, which has been widely circulated on social media, showed soldiers from the two countries punching and kicking each other and throwing stones.
Officers in security establishment expressed hope that the ongoing tension with China would get resolved by October-end. "The area is such that jawans cannot be posted there. So we hope that this tension would de-escalate soon," a senior officer said.
The stand-off at Doklam, near the India, China and Bhutan tri-junction, has entered its third month. India and China have been locked in a face-off after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area.