China has warned India that its “restraint” in the prolonged military standoff in the Sikkim sector has a “bottom line”, despite New Delhi’s assertion that it would follow diplomacy to solve all disputes.
The reaction from the Chinese defence ministry on Thursday night came a day after India’s external affairs ministry in a statement said that the peace and tranquillity of the India-China boundary constitutes the important prerequisite for the smooth development of bilateral relations.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj last month made clear India’s position on the over-a-month-long standoff in the Doklam area, saying both sides should first pull back their troops for any talks to take place, favouring a peaceful resolution.
On Tuesday, Chinese Presi-dent Xi Jinping said China will not allow anyone to “split its territory” and lauded his armed forces’ resolve to protect the country’s sovereignty and defeat “all invasions”.
“No one should expect us to swallow the bitter fruit that is harmful to our sovereignty, security or development interests,” Xi said as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is engaged in a standoff with Indian troops at Doklam in the Sikkim section.
The standoff began on June 16 after Chinese troops began constructing a road near the trijunction with Bhutan, which India says was a unilateral action by Beijing to change the status quo in the area. New Delhi fears the construction of the road would allow China to cut off India’s access to its northeastern states.
Ren Guoqiang, a spokesperson of the Chinese defence ministry, in a statement called on the Indian side to swiftly address the situation in a proper manner to restore peace and tranquillity in the border region. “Since the incident occurred, China has shown utmost goodwill and sought to communicate with India through diplomatic channels to resolve the incident. Chinese armed forces have also shown a high level of restraint with an eye to the general bilateral relations and the regional peace and stability,” Ren said, according to report in the state-run Xinhua news agency.
“However, goodwill has its principles and restraint has its bottom line,” Ren added.
Meanwhile, an editorial posted on the website of the state-run Global Times said that, “over the past month, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been on the move. We believe that the PLA has made sufficient preparation for military confrontation” with India.
