China says situation at India border 'overall stable and controllable'

Beijing: China on Wednesday said that the situation at the border with India is “overall stable and controllable,” and both the countries have proper mechanisms and communication channels to resolve the issues through a dialogue and consultation.

The comments by the Foreign Ministry spokesman came in the backdrop of the continuing standoff between the militaries of India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, during a media briefing here, said that China’s position on the border related issues is clear and consistent.

“We have been following the important consensus reached by the two leaders and strictly observing the agreements between the two countries,” he said, apparently referring to the directions of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their two informal summits, asking the militaries of the two countries to take more confidence building measures to maintain peace and tranquillity along the borders.

The foreign ministry’s remarks came a day after President Xi ordered the military to scale up the battle preparedness, visualising the worst-case scenarios and asked it to resolutely defend the country’s sovereignty.

Zhao said: “We are committed to safeguarding our territorial sovereignty and security, and safeguarding peace and stability in the border areas. Now the China-India border area situation is overall stable and controllable”.

“Between the two countries, we have good border related mechanism and communication channels. We are capable of resolving the issues properly though dialogue and consultation,” he said, confirming reports that the diplomatic efforts were on to ease the border tensions.

Asked where the talks are taking place, Zhao said the two countries have established border related mechanisms and diplomatic channels.

“This includes the communication between border troops and between our diplomatic missions,” he added.

The nearly 3,500-km-long LAC is the de-facto border between the two countries.

Several areas along the LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have witnessed major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies recently, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of respective positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs.

India has said the Chinese military was hindering normal patrolling by its troops along the LAC in Ladakh and Sikkim and strongly refuted Beijing’s contention that the escalating tension between the two armies was triggered by trespassing of Indian forces across the Chinese side.

The Ministry of External Affairs said all Indian activities were carried out on its side of the border, asserting that India has always taken a very responsible approach towards border management. At the same time, it said, India was deeply committed to protect its sovereignty and security.

“Any suggestion that Indian troops had undertaken activity across the LAC in the Western sector or the Sikkim sector is not accurate. Indian troops are fully familiar with the alignment of the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas and abide by it scrupulously,” MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at an online media briefing last week