World Tibet Network News Wednesday, May 06, 1998
NEW DELHI, May 6 (AFP) - Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes on Wednesday said he favoured talks with neighbouring China and sought to downplay earlier controversial remarks of his that angered Beijing.
Fernandes, in a statement issued here from the south-east islands of Andaman and Nicobar, said he reciprocated "China's commitment on the ongoing dialogue between New Delhi and Beijing."
The 68-year-old veteran is at odds with the ruling Hindu nationalists with his explosive comments that China, India's giant northern neighbour, is New Delhi's number one enemy.
That comment made Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee distance himself from his coalition ally. Vajpayee, according to press reports, said there would be no "rethink" on the country's policies towards China.
It also evoked strong protests from China's foreign ministry as well as across a wide political spectrum in India. Indian opposition parties have accused Fernandes of endangering Sino-Indian ties.
India says China still holds 40,000 square kilometres (16,000 square miles) of its territory in Kashmir. China lays claim to a swathe of Indian territory in the far eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Relations with neighbouring China also soured last month when New Delhi accused Beijing of being behind the launch of Pakistan's surface-to-surface Ghauri missile.
Fernandes said: "It appears that there is a feeling in certain circles that I am not keen on an India-China dialogue to resolve outstanding issues between the two nations."
He said he wanted to "create peace and amity between India and Pakistan.
"Of course, I put the spotlight on the contentious issues with our neighbours with the purpose of making the Indian people conscious about them.
"This is because I do believe that matters of national security must become people's concern," Fernandes said in the statement.
He came under further fire Wednesday from Myanmar's junta who blasted him for accusing Yangon of allowing China the use of its territory to set up military installations.
Former Indian prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral on Tuesday described Fernandes as "temperamentally an adventurist," and warned his "utterances and chauvinism" were straining India's foreign policy.
Fernandes told a television network Sunday that "the potential threat from China is greater than that from Pakistan and any person concerned about India's security must agree with that fact."
He said Beijing had stockpiled nuclear weapons and extended military airfields in Tibet on India's north during the past six months, adding China was also training neighbouring Myanmar's army.
"These comments cannot be taken as the government's opinion but are a product of a rebellious mind," said an analyst from the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA).
Last month, he claimed China had built a military airstrip in Indian territory, a statement Vajpayee was publicly forced to refute as incorrect.
When he was named India's defence minister in March, many were worried that Fernandes may incorporate his anti-China agenda in his official pronouncements -- a fear which has come true.
Fernandes, a Christian who studied philosophy and became a politician although his father wanted him to be a priest, is a long-standing critic of China and the most vocal Indian supporter of Tibetan independence.
He has also supported the movement for democracy in Myanmar and the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka.
His Samata (Equality) Party tied up with Hindu nationalists during the 1996 elections, but the alliance held power for only 13 days. This time, its 12 members of parliament are crucial to the government's survival.
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