Toughening its stance, China on Tuesday said there was no scope for a “compromise” in the military standoff with India in the Sikkim section, and put the onus on New Delhi to resolve the “grave” situation. Chinese Ambassador to India luo Zhaohui said “the ball is in India’s court” and it is for the Indian Government to decide what options could be on the table to resolve the standoff.
luo’s remarks, unusual for a diplomat, come amid intense diplomatic parleys between the two countries to resolve the standoff. Efforts are also on to have another flag meeting between the sector commanders of both the armies after the first flag meeting on June 20 had failed to ease the eyeball-to-eyeball situation in Doka la region at the tri-junction of Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet.
Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to meet later this week in Germany on the sidelines of G-20 summit.
Asked about observation made by official Chinese media and think-tanks that the conflict can lead to a “war” if not handled properly, the Ambassador said in an interview to PTI, “There has been talk about this option, that option. It is up to your Government policy (whether to exercise military option).”
“The Chinese Government is very clear that it wants peaceful resolution at current state of the situation, for which withdrawal of Indian troops from the area is a precondition,” luo asserted. “The first priority is that the Indian troops unconditionally pull back to the Indian side of the boundary. That is the precondition for any meaningful dialogue between China and India,” he said.
“The situation is grave and made me deeply worried. It is the first time that Indian troops have crossed the mutually recognised boundary and trespassed into China’s territory, triggering a close range face-off between Chinese and Indian border troops. Now 19 days have passed, but the situation still has not eased,” said luo, adding, “It is critical that India shall withdraw its troops immediately to minimise the negative impact. It serves the interests of the two sides.”
He also asserted that India has no right to interfere with the China-Bhutan boundary talks, nor is it entitled to make territorial claims on behalf of Bhutan. “India cannot encroach upon the territory of other countries on the ground of its ‘security concerns’. Otherwise, the world would be in chaos,” said the Chinese envoy.
He also outlined that the current standoff was of different nature from the previous frictions between the two countries. It is the first time that such a severe situation
has occurred at the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary, he said.
Meanwhile, sources said there were efforts at different levels to ensure another flag meeting between the two sides. The flag meetings are held under the Border Defence Co-Operation Agreement (BDCA) signed between the two countries in 2013. The pact was signed as confidence building measure to address such issues in a peaceful manner.