Mumbai, September 3: NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the Chinese are "surreptitiously" encircling the Indian sub-continent, and India must keep a close watch on developments in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

He had invited former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (Retd) for interaction with NCP MPs Supriya Sule, Praful Patel, Amol Kolhe and Vandana Chavan against the background of the stand-off in eastern Ladakh, Pawar tweeted. India-China Stand-Off in Ladakh: Current Situation Result of Beijing's Attempts to Change Status Quo, Says MEA.

The former defence minister said that during the meeting he expressed his concerns over a larger strategic and political thinking in China that aims to halt India's economic growth.

"I highlighted the fact that the Chinese are surreptitiously encircling the Indian Sub-Continent from all directions and also expressed my concern over their presence in the South China Sea," Pawar said in another tweet. "I hinted at the need to keep a close watch on affairs of Sri Lanka and Nepal and also the Chinese interventions in general," he added.

Vijay Gokhale spoke about the history of Indo-China elationship, especially the border disputes. The former foreign secretary shared his views on the current situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Pawar said. China's Latest Incursion Attempt Was Deliberate to Provoke India: US Intelligence.

Air Marshal Gokhale emphasized that India must take into consideration the new era of parallel warfare that includes cyber war, information war, perception creation and war on economic fronts, the NCP president added.

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