NEW DELHI - India and China will resume their talks Aug. 7 and 8 here on their disputed border, with Dai Bingguo, Chinese vice minister for foreign affairs, meeting with Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan.
India and China fought a brief battle in 1962 over border issues and have held a series of talks to resolve the disagreement. The dispute involves the longest contested boundary in the world. China claims 92,000 square kilometers of Indian territory, a senior Indian Foreign Ministry official said.
The border between India and China is defined by a 4,056-kilometer Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is neither marked on the ground nor on mutually acceptable maps. Efforts to have a recognized LAC since the mid-1980s have made little headway.
Of late, New Delhi has shown concern over China's increased defense spending. The latest report of the Indian Defence Ministry issued in early July says China's armed forces' modernization needs to be "monitored carefully" for implications on India's defense and security.
Indian Navy Chief Adm. Sureesh Mehta had earlier said that China was shaping the maritime battlefield in the region.
"They [Chinese] are looking 20 years ahead," Mehta had cautioned.
India has already begun raising infrastructure along the border with China and is building new roads. Special troops are being prepared for deployment along the Chinese border and tenders have been floated to buy ultralight 155mm guns and a variety of helicopters.
China has increased its nuclear submarines in the Indian Ocean, an Indian Navy official said.
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