New Delhi, March 24, 2005 (ANI)

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee informed Rajya Sabha today that the Centre had the knowledge of periodical intrusions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the Indo-China border and the two sides are trying to address the problem through Joint Working Group/Expert Group mechanism.

"The intrusions result from different perceptions of the LAC by both countries", he said in a written reply.

The first meeting of Indo-China strategic dialogue took place here in January last in which the two sides discussed important regional and global issues that shape the present international scenario, he said.

According to him, discussions were held on bilateral relations, foreign security policies and preparations for the forthcoming visit of the Chinese Prime Minister to India later this year.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is expected to be in India in early April at the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He had earlier announced that he would visit India with a three-point agenda, including enhancing bilateral ties to strategic levels and to seek a "fair" resolution to the vexed boundary issue on the basis of "mutual accommodation and accommodation of reality".

The India-China boundary issue has been lingering for many decades. India says China is illegally occupying 43,180 sq kms of Jammu and Kashmir including 5,180 sq km illegally ceded to Beijing by Islamabad under the Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement in 1963.

On the other hand, China accuses India of possessing some 90,000 sq km of Chinese territory, mostly in Arunachal Pradesh. With the boundary negotiations reaching an impasse, India and China decided in June, 2003 during the visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to appoint Special Representatives to speed up the talks and find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution through consultations on an equal footing.

The two sides also agreed that pending an ultimate solution, they should work together to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, and reiterated their commitment to continue implementation of the agreements signed for this purpose, including the clarification of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

After assuming office, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had expressed hope of strengthening the Indo-China ties.