Even as the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said India should not use “trespass” into the Doklam area in Sikkim sector as a “policy tool” to achieve its “political targets”, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar told a parliamentary panel that China’s stand is “unusually” aggressive this time but India is pursuing a diplomatic path to resolve the stand-off.
While the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi remained tightlipped over China’s stand, Jaishankar told the parliamentary panel that the Chinese side was misinterpreting the border position which India has maintained since 1895 as per an Anglo-Chinese agreement.
According to some members who attended the meeting, the Foreign Secretary said that India was engaged with Beijing in defusing tension through diplomatic channels.
A member quoted Jaishankar as saying that China’s “aggression and rhetoric” on the recent impasse is “unusual” but it is not as complicated as is being projected in some quarters. “We will continue to engage with them through diplomatic channels,” he said.
In its official briefing on Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman lu Kang said that India should not use “trespass” into the Doklam area in the Sikkim sector as a “policy tool” to achieve its “political targets”. He also asked New Delhi to immediately withdraw its troops to avoid any escalation.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it is in “close communication” with foreign missions in Beijing on the imbroglio with India, but refused to confirm whether it held a special briefing for them on the issue.
“Since the illegal trespass by Indian border personnel, many foreign diplomats in China felt shocked about this and (wanted) to confirm whether it was true,” the Ministry’s spokesman lu Kang said when asked about the reported briefing.
“The Chinese side maintains close communication with the foreign diplomatic missions on the issues they are interested,” Kang told reporters.
China reportedly held a “closed-door briefing” last week and conveyed its side of the story on the face-off near the Bhutan trijunction.
Asked if China stated in the reported meeting that its patience was wearing thin, Kang said Beijing stressed that the “facts are very clear in this incident”.
He said the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary is mutually recognised by the two sides. “This time Indian border personnel illegally trespassed the boundary into the Chinese territory,” he said.
lu Kang said, “We have reiterated our position on the illegal trespass by the Indian side. We hope the Indian side can get clear understanding of the current situation and take immediate measures to withdraw the personnel,” he said.
Earlier, an Op-Ed in a Chinese State-run daily said that if India “stirs up conflicts in several spots, it must face the consequence of an all-out confrontation with China along the entire lAC (line of Actual Control).”
“China doesn’t advocate and tries hard to avoid a military clash with India, but China doesn’t fear going to war to safeguard sovereignty either, and will make itself ready for a long-term confrontation, said The Global Times.