India should 'conscientiously withdraw' to end standoff: Wang

Beijing: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has claimed that India “admitted” to entering Chinese territory and said the solution to the standoff was for its troops to “conscientiously withdraw” from the Dokalam area in the Sikkim sector.

“The rights and wrongs are very clear and even senior Indian officials have openly stated that Chinese troops did not enter into the Indian territory,” Wang said yesterday in Bangkok, commenting for the first time over the standoff between the troops from the two countries.

“In other words, the Indian side admitted to entering the Chinese territory. The solution to this problem is very simple: conscientiously withdraw,” he said in a brief quote in Chinese posted on China’s Foreign Ministry’s website today.

The standoff has happened in the southernmost part of Tibet in an area also claimed by Indian ally Bhutan after the Chinese army tried to build a road in the disputed area.

India has said the “unilateral” Chinese action to change the status quo near the Bhutan trijunction poses a challenge to India’s security.

In her address to the Rajya Sabha last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj accused China of building roads using bulldozers and excavators, which has been protested by Bhutan in writing to Beijing.

She also said India was not “unreasonable” on the issue and all nations were with it.
The issues is expected to be discussed during the visit of Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to Beijing for a meeting of the NSAs of BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – on July 27-28.

Yesterday, the Chinese Defence Ministry said its military will safeguard China’s security interests at “any cost”.