NEW DELHI (TIP): A cautious government on April 25 announced that foreign minister Salman Khurshid will indeed be travelling to Beijing on May 9, as India prepares to receive Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on May 20. The visit will happen despite the ongoing stand-off in the Daulet Beg Oldie (DBO) sector in Ladakh where Chinese and Indian soldiers are locked in a face-off with little hope of resolving the issue through local commanders. Government sources said that even if the present impasse continues, it will have no impact on Khurshid’s visit.

Ever since the incident was first reported, the government has attributed it to differing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Both sides have been in touch on this through the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India- China border affairs which is headed by joint secretary (East Asia) in the MEA, Gautam Bambawale, and the director general border affairs of the Chinese foreign ministry. Confirming his visit on May 9, Khurshid said on Thursday that the working mechanism was enough to handle the issue. “Let us allow that mechanism to find its solution and repeatedly it has found.