Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol near the India-Pakistan international border fence. PHOTO: AP
Chinese experts have criticised India's decision to completely seal its western border with Pakistan deeming it "very irrational".
According to experts, the move will further complicate already tense India-China relations considering Beijing's 'all-weather' strategic ties with Islamabad. "India is making a very irrational decision, since no exhaustive investigation has been conducted after the Uri incident, and no evidence proves Pakistan is behind the attack," the Global Times quoted Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow from the official thinktank Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy, as saying.
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Hu was commenting on Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh's announcement on Friday that the 3,323-km-long border between India and Pakistan would be "completely sealed" by December 2018. "A completely sealed border would further hinder the already scarce border trade and talks between the two countries," Hu added.
"The country's decision reflects its Cold War mentality, and would only cause deeper hatred among residents living in Indian- and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir," Hu added.
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Another expert, Wang Dehua, director of the Institute for Southern and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies, said, "A sealed border would only disrupt peace efforts made by the two sides [India and Pakistan]."
The experts share the view that India's decision would make China-Pakistan-India relations more complicated. "But a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute is in the interest of China's homeland security, especially its western regions," Hu said.
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The experts' comments come ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India this week to take part in the Brics Summit in Goa where he would meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two last met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou last month.
This story originally appeared on Times of India
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