Kochi: India-China border disputes cannot be settled unless there is trust between the leadership of the two countries, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said.

The border disputes with China cannot be settled unless there is trust between the leaders of the two countries and India should not concede even an inch of its territory to China, Swamy told a press meet here today. "Having good relations is not enough. We need to build trust, which is lacking," he said.

Indian and Chinese leaders should meet more frequently, he said adding the recent visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to China had not broken any new grounds. India does not trust China and China does not trust India. That deficit should be covered and despite Prime Minister's visit, that has not changed, he said.

On the recent luncheon meeting hosted by AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, he said they know each other. Jayalalithaa had gone to attend Modi's swearing-in in 2002, he said. Asked about the Bharat Ratna controversy, Swamy said his party was committed to the 1977 decision of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai that such awards should be abolished. "You can give medals to soldiers for valour. But to give awards to people for public service is not necessary," he said, adding, all such honours and medals should be abolished. Like Monarchy, state awards are not keeping with the democratic spirit of the country, he said.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani had in a letter to Prime Minister Manmoham Singh on January 5 proposed the name of A B Vajpayee for the Bharat Ratna, triggering a controversy.

Source : PTI