India has raised the issue of Chinese incursions across the LAC and the need for a separate mechanism for water issues during the fifth India-China Strategic Dialogue held here on Tuesday.
The Indian side was led by foreign secretary Sujatha Singh while the Chinese were led by vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin. The possibility of a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China in October was also discussed. India has been concerned about Chinese incursions across the LAC, particularly the one that lasted three weeks in April-May this year in the Daultat Beg Oldie sector in Ladakh.
In an indirect reference to Chinese intrusions, the ministry of external affairs said that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the border was discussed. As for a separate mechanism to deal with water issues, India has been concerned about Chinese plans to construct dams on that part of the Brahmaputra. Indian is worried that the construction of dams upstream will impact flow of water downstream but China has not shown a favourable response yet to this suggestion.