New Delhi: China on Wednesday said Indian troops entered Chinese territory and threw a spanner in the Kailash yatra for Indian pilgrims. Declaring that China fully respected the religious sentiments of the Indian pilgrims, Beijing said it was open to the possibility of alternative routes for the yatra apart from the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand. China has stopped the pilgrimage through the motorable Nathu La route in Sikkim.
In a statement, the Spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India Counselor Xie Liyan said, "In 2014, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India, China announced the opening of a new yatra ... The two sides agreed that a total of 350 yatris in seven batches would take part in yatras to Xizang (Tibet) through Nathula Pass this year. The first batch would have entered Xizang on June 20th, with visas already issued by Chinese embassy and preparation ready in Xizang. However, days before the departure of the yatris, the Indian border troops crossed into the Chinese territory and obstructed the Chinese border troops' normal activities in Doklam. To ensure the safe and smooth visit of Indian yatris, China had to halt their entry into Xizang through Nathu La Pass."
The Chinese embassy spokesperson further said, "China consistently respects the Indian people's religious sentiments and attaches importance to Indian Yatra to Kailash and Manasrovar in Xizang. Up to now, the official yatra through Lipuleku Pass and non-official yatra through Lhasa and Purang are still on the rails. We are willing to discuss the possibility of alternative arrangements through other routes for Indian official yatris who had planned to visit Kailash and Manasrovar via Nathu La Pass."
No dispute with Bhutan: China
China on Wednesday claimed that it has a ‘basic consensus’ with Bhutan on the boundary and there is no dispute between two countries in the Doklam area, the centre of the current Sino-India military standoff. The standoff between troops of India and China at Doklam area started after Bhutan, which has close diplomatic and military ties with India, protested to Beijing about the People's Liberation Army troops building a road in the strategic location close to the 'Chicken's Neck' tri-junction. “I can say that we have been stressing that Doklam belongs to China since ancient times. It was under the effective jurisdiction of China without any dispute. China and Bhutan had about 24 rounds of boundary talks,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.
