No outside arbitration needed to resolve border issue with China: Modi

New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday rejected any need for outside arbitration to resolve the vexed issue of India’s boundary dispute with China, saying the two countries are competent to find a solution through talks. [caption id=“attachment_1736719” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PM Narendra Modi said no outside arbitration was needed to resolve Sino-Indian border dispute. AFP[/caption] “India and China are capable of resolving issues through talks. There is no need for any arbitration,” Modi said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York in response to a question. Asked if India would accept outside arbitration or adjudication to resolve the Sino-India border issue, the Prime Minister said, “there was no need for it as the two countries are talking to each other directly.” Modi said India wants to build friendly relations with all its neighbours. His remarks came in the backdrop of a recent standoff in Ladakh region, where Chinese Army had made a fresh incursion. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last week said that withdrawal of Chinese troops from the area will be completed by 30 September. India asserts that the border dispute covered about 4,000 km, while China claims that it confined to about 2,000 km to the area of Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers as Southern Tibet. After 17 rounds of talks, India and China have moved forward to resolve the vexed issue. PTI