Eyeing China, India befriends ‘Myanmar Navy’: Cautions Beijing from commenting on ‘internal matters’

New Delhi: The Modi government is now taking its ‘China policy’ to a new stage wherein it sought to warn Beijing from meddling in India’s “internal matters” and also enlisted closer friendship with Myanmar by offering it the first submarine INS Sindhuvir.

“China has no locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters. We hope that countries will not comment on India’s internal matters, as much as they expect the same of others,” MEA spokesman Anurag Srivastava told reporters here on Thursday during weekly briefing days after ‘Taiwan National Day’ and after the Chinese foreign ministry linked infrastructure development on the Indian side to the stand-off in East Ladakh. During Taiwan National Day, common Indians gave a taste of their feeling to Beijing in social media while the government preferred not to issue any statement.

Answering questions, the MEA spokesman said, “Cooperation in the maritime domain is a part of our diverse and enhanced engagement with Myanmar. In this context, India will be delivering a kilo class submarine INS Sindhuvir to the Myanmar Navy. We understand that this will be the first submarine of the Myanmar Navy.”

This is in accordance with India’s vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region, and also inline with New Delhi’s commitment to build capacities and “self reliance” in all the neighbouring countries, he said.

Answering questions, he said: “The union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are, and would remain an integral part of India. China has no locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters”. Srivastava also clarified yet again India’s position on Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the northeastern state is an “inalienable” part of India. “This fact has also been clearly conveyed to the Chinese side on several occasions, including at the highest level”.

To questions on claim by Pakistan’s Moeed Yusuf that India has sent a message to resume dialogues, the MEA spokesman outright denied any such move.

“As regards the purported message, let me make it clear that no such message was sent from our side,” he said.

The spokesman said Pakistan always tries to “divert attention from domestic failures of the present government and mislead its domestic constituents by pulling India into headlines on a daily basis”.

“The Official (Pak NSA) is well advised to restrict his advice to his establishment and not to comment on India’s domestic policy. The statements made by him are contrary to facts on the ground, misleading and fictitious”. The Modi government has put off all bilateral talks except on specific issues like Kartarpur Corridor with Pakistan following the Pathankot air force terror attack in January 2016.

On Thursday also, the MEA spokesman said: “The Pakistani leadership continues to indulge in inappropriate, provocative and hate speech against India. Such support to terrorism against India and use of derogatory and abusive language is not conducive to normal neighbourly relations”.

Pakistani NSA had told an Indian website: “Kashmiris can’t bear the thought of being Indian. Kashmiri Hindustan se nafrat kartein hain, and, when that’s the reality, what internal arrangement are you talking about?”

On disengagement along Chinese border, Mr Srivastava said: “Disengagement is a complex process that requires redeployment of troops by each side towards their regular posts on their respective sides of the LAC. To achieve this, the two sides will maintain the current momentum of communications based on the guidance of our leadership to not to turn differences into disputes”.