The Arunachal Pradesh Raj Bhawan has said that media reports about Governor Gen (retd) J.J. Singh’s statement on border dispute with China 'have been purportedly taken from a speech and the comments have been quoted out of context'.
A statement issued by Raj Bhawan on Friday stated that 'the Governor's views have been purportedly taken from a speech that he had made at a seminar organised by the Rajiv Gandhi University on March 8-9 last'.
"When we read in the overall perspective, the comments have been quoted out of context and an impression different from what was conveyed has been created," the statement said.
"The question of dialogue would certainly imply discussion on certain disputed portions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and as a starting point for such a dialogue, the acknowledgement of give-and-take principle has to be recognised", the statement said.
"This is in context of the overall boundary with China, extending from Aksai Chin in the west to North-East India in the east and for the North-East India, the McMohan line should certainly be the keystone of the edifice," it said.
"The perceptional differences between both sides on disputed pockets along the border should be discussed by government representatives at the highest levels. We need to display the highest levels of diplomacy, statesmanship and statecraft in solving this long pending issue," the statement read.
Earlier some media reports had said that Singh, a former Army chief, had said 'that India should move away from its non-negotiable stand on the border dispute with China'.
"Our relations with China assume great importance for the overall peace, progress and development of the region. We have an ongoing strategic and co-operative partnership in place which began with the historic visit of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to China in 1988 laying the foundations of a much more vibrant relationship between the two nations," the statement said.
"The visit by Prime Minister Vajpayee in 2003 followed by the appointment of special representatives to solve the border issue has given a further thrust to the same," it further said.
"Successive governments at the Centre, across the board and irrespective of party affiliations have always advocated a peaceful settlement of the border dispute in a pragmatic and mature manner, through mutual understanding and through dialogue to discuss the disputed areas," the statement added.