India on Friday warned China that it should not underestimate India’s military potential as Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said that the situation in 1962 was different from that of India of 2017. Breaking its silence over the face-off between the Indian Army and the People’s liberation Army (PlA) in the Sikkim sector, the Indian Government made it clear to China that its unilateral act of altering boundaries can have serious implications.
Reacting to the statements by Chinese military spokesperson asking India to learn lessons from the past and stop dangerous clamour for war, Jaitley said, “If they are trying to remind us, the situation in 1962 was different, the India of today is different.”
The cause of the latest face-off in the North East sector is the Chinese attempt to build a road in the strategically key area of Donglong which is a link to the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction. On June 16, 2017 the PlA entered the Doklam area in Bhutan with earthmovers and construction machines and attempted to construct a road which could give China a major military advantage over India.
The Royal Bhutan Army, which objected to the construction, was outnumbered and pushed back to their post by the PlA following which the Indian Army was called for help. Indian Army and Bhutan Army do joint patrolling at the tri-junction. The Indian forces asked PlA to stop the measure to alter the status quo in the region.
Ambassador of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) had lodged a protest with the Chinese Government through their Embassy in New Delhi on June 20. The Foreign Ministry of Bhutan also issued a statement underlining that the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements between Bhutan and China and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between these two countries. They have urged a return to the status quo as before June 16, 2017.
Speaking at a function organised by a media house, Jaitley added that the Government of Bhutan had made it clear that China was trying to claim Bhutanese land. “After the statement of the Government of Bhutan, I think the situation is absolutely clear. It is Bhutan’s land, close to the Indian border, and Bhutan and India have an arrangement to provide security. Bhutan itself clarified ... China is trying to alter the status quo. After this, I think the issue is absolutely clear. To say we will come there and grab the land of some other country is what China is doing and it is absolutely wrong,” the Minister said.
The Ministry of External Affairs, on the other hand, said that the construction of a road will cause a significant change of status quo, and is a violation of a 2012 understanding with China. It added India is committed to working with China to find a peaceful resolution to all issues in the border areas through dialogue, while asking for restraint and respect for bilateral understandings of not to change the status quo unilaterally.
China, on the other hand, alleged that Indian border troops crossed the boundary line in the Sikkim sector and entered Chinese territory. It asked India to withdraw its troops from the Donglong area as a precondition for meaningful dialogue to settle the boundary issue.
Interestingly, the face-off comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana last month on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation where Modi reportedly told Xi: “Don’t let differences becomes disputes.”
He added that given the uncertain global politics it is in the interest of India and China to be more predictable. It is learnt Xi was in agreement with Modi’s suggestion.
The MEA further said that the matter has been under discussion between India and China at the diplomatic level in the Foreign Ministries since then, both in New Delhi and Beijing and it was also the subject of a Border Personnel Meeting at Nathu la on June 20.
“India has consistently taken a positive approach to the settlement of its own boundary with China, along with the associated issue of the tri-junctions. India cherishes peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas. It has not come easily. Both sides have worked hard to establish institutional framework to discuss all issues to ensure peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas. India is committed to working with China to find a peaceful resolution of all issues in the border areas through dialogue,” the MEA said.
Meanwhile, the top officials of the Indian Government and Army reviewed the situation in the Sikkim sector. In a meeting attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and other officials, a detailed analysis was made of the overall situation in the sensitive areas.