New Delhi, June 25
After China upped its ante on Arunachal Pradesh last month, India has discreetly conveyed to China that it could not be pushed beyond a point on the boundary dispute.

The message was conveyed last week. The perception of the Indian government is that India-China relations have been so far on an even keel despite their rivaling strategic pursuits in and around the region. Bilateral trade has already breached the $ 30 billion mark and is expected to reach $ 50 billion by 2010.

However, Beijing’s posturing on Arunachal Pradesh is continuing, this time with a difference.

A week ago, people living in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh were virtually cut off from the rest of India as signals of Doordarshan and All India Radio - their only source of keeping themselves posted of developments in India - were jammed. The reason: China installed more powerful transmitters in its territory bordering Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state, which China has been claiming as its territory for decades.

The Government of India has not taken up the matter with Beijing diplomatically for the simple reason because it knows this situation has come about because of its own shortcomings.

A senior Indian official said that for past several years he had repeatedly stressed the need for development of infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh at various inter-ministerial meetings, but nothing had happened. The DD-AIR blackout in border areas of Arunachal Pradesh is mainly because of the fact the transmitter at Itanagar sends very feeble signals to cover the entire state.