Sikkim stand off: Up to India to exercise military option says China
Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.
The Sikkim stand off has been termed by China as a grave situation. It is completely up to India whether it wants to exercise military option or not, but China is in favour of a peaceful resolution said its Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui.
The
ball
is
in
India's
court
the
Ambassador
said.
There
has
been
talk
of
a
military
option,
but
it
is
totally
up
to
India
whether
to
exercise
the
same
or
not,
Zhaohui
also
said.
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
"pre-
condition",
he
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.
China and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan trijunction for past 19 days after a Chinese army's construction party came to build a road.
Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region. China and Bhutan are engaged in talks over the resolution of the area. Bhutan, however, has no diplomatic ties with China and it is supported militarily and diplomatically by India.
"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," Luo said.
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.
The Indian External Affairs Ministry said that it is concerned about the situation, but also added that such construction would represent a significant change in status quo.
As for the so called 'security concerns' of the Indian side, India has crossed a delimited boundary into other country's territory in the name of security concerns, no matter what kind of activities it conducts there, which will not acceptable to any sovereign state.
India cannot encroach upon the territory of other countries on the ground of its 'security concerns'. Otherwise, the world would be in chaos, Zhaohui also added.
Recommended Video
OneIndia News