Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. (File Photo: IANS)
New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) India has told China there can't be two standards for dealing with terrorism, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Thursday.
The comment comes against the backdrop of India's protest over China's veto on New Delhi's bid to list Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Masood Azhar on the UN terror list.
The US, Britain and France had strongly supported the move.
Parrikar said he raised the issue during his visit to China.
"I have expressed very clearly there can't be differentiation (vis-a-vis) terrorists. All terrorists are the same and they need to be dealt with in the same manner, including the issue they had obstructed at the UN. They should also deal with it in the same manner," he said.
"The issue was also raised and India's concerns were presented in a clear manner. May be for the first time, it was raised clearly and firmly. Of course, they have their own justification. We did not shy away from raising our issues," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Naval Commanders Conference here.
Parrikar also said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had also raised the issue with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow this week.
On his visit to China, Parrikar said the talks were held in a "frank and positive" atmosphere and both sides agreed to step up interactions.
He said "better communication" was the need of the hour. "We agreed to increase our interactions and better management of borders."
He said the "best solution" for border disputes was to finalise the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as different perception of the border leads to what is perceived as transgression.
"Because of different perception, technical transgression happens. We feel it is traversing, but they (Chinese troops) are just patrolling. They come and go," he said.
The minister stressed that such incidents had come down.
He also said an "improved" version of the MoU on defence, signed in May 2006, is being exchanged for finalisation.
