India should have 'learnt lessons' from the Dokalam stand-off last year: China

Beijing: China on Monday asserted that Dokalam belongs to it and India should have “learnt lessons” from the standoff last year, days after India’s envoy blamed China for the face-off saying it happened because Beijing tried to alter the “status quo” in the disputed area.

Reacting to India’s Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “Donglong (Dokalam) belongs to China because we have historical conventions.” “China’s activities there are within our sovereign rights. There is no such thing as changing status quo,” she said at a media briefing here.

“Last year, thanks to our concerted efforts and our wisdom, we properly resolved this issue. We hope the Indian side could learn some lessons from this and stick to the historical conventions and work with China to ensure the atmosphere in the border areas is conducive for the development of bilateral ties,” she added.

The India’s envoy in an interview to Hong Kong-based “South China Morning Post” had blamed China for the standoff in Dokalam saying it happened because Beijing tried to alter the “status quo” which it should not have.