On Doklam standoff, Nepal decides to stay neutral

Bhutan has protested to China, saying the area belonged to it and accused Beijing of violating agreements that aim to maintain the status quo until the boundary dispute is resolved.

In a snub to China, Nepal has said that it will not take sides on the Doklam issue. This was conveyed by Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

Nepal wants India and China to use "peaceful diplomatic means" to resolve the issue, said Mahara, who is also the Foreign Minister.

"Nepal will not get dragged into this or that side in the border dispute," he told reporters.
"Some media reports are attempting to drag us in favour of one or the other side, but I want to make it clear that we have not taken any side in this matter," Mahara said.

He said that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will pay an official visit to India from August 23 to 27 and necessary preparations are going on for the same.

However, detailed itinerary of the visit is yet to be finalised, Mahara said.

He also told media persons that Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang will arrive in Nepal on August 14 on an official visit.

The Chinese leader's visit will be development-centric, and it cannot be linked with the prime minister's visit to India in any way, he added.

India and China have been locked in a standoff in Sikkim section's Doklam area since June 16 after Chinese troops began constructing a road near the Bhutan trijunction.

Bhutan has protested to China, saying the area belonged to it and accused Beijing of violating agreements that aim to maintain the status quo until the boundary dispute is resolved.

India says the Chinese action to lay the road was unilateral and changes the status quo. It fears the road would allow China to cut off India's access to its northeastern states.

OneIndia News