India on Friday said that unpleasant acts like stone pelting and a scuffle between the soldiers of India and China along the line of Actual Control (lAC) are not in the interest of either side and the two countries have to continue engaging diplomatically to find a solution to the border imbroglio.
Reacting to the recent incidents in ladakh where the Chinese soldiers engaged in a scuffle with the Indian soldiers and even pelted stones at them, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “Such incidents are not in the interest of either side.”
He, however, emphasised that this incident should not be linked with what was happening in any other sector, including Doklam. He added that there were established mechanisms to deal with such issues and already two Border Personnel Meetings (BPMs) had taken place between India and China recently. According to him one BPM had taken place at Chushul on August 16 and another one at Nathu la a week before.
On the ongoing Doklam stand-off since June 16, Kumar said India will continue to engage with China to find a mutually acceptable solution. “It is a sensitive issue... We will continue to engage with China to find a mutually acceptable solution. Peace and tranquility in border areas are important pre-requisites for smooth development of bilateral relations,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, China has so far not sent any hydrological data to India on trans-border rivers Sutlej and Brahmaputra to help India prepare for floods, despite bilateral agreements between the Water Resources Ministries of the two countries.
China held back the data even as several parts of the North-East, Bihar and West Bengal faced heavy floods.
Kumar said that China was expected to share the information in accordance with the existing Expert-level Mechanism and the MoUs inked in 2013 and 2015, but Beijing “has so far not shared with India any data this year.”
However, the MEA spokesperson said that it was “premature” to link it with the floods in Assam as there can be “technical reasons” behind China not sharing the data. He also noted that in view of floods in Bihar, India was closely coordinating with Nepal, both at the Centre and State-level.
As per the agreements, China is to provide hydrological forecasts to India from June 1 to October 15 every year for the Yarlung Zangbo River which reaches India as Brahmaputra and floods the North-East, Assam and neighbouring States during monsoon.
The Sutlej that too emanates from Tibet creates havoc in Himachal Pradesh and surrounding regions during monsoons.
Though there have been instances in the past as well when China has not sent the hydrological data, its act in the present context is seen in the light of the ongoing stand-off in Doklam.
The forecasts are meant to help India with flood prevention and cutting losses caused by floods. After the agreement China had set up water monitoring stations on its side along with flood warning systems to alert those living in the downstream areas.