Swaraj said that there is an agreement between India, China and Bhutan signed in 2012 that the countries will come together to discuss border issues in the tri-junction area
India has the support of all countries on its month-long military standoff with China and the matter can be resolved through dialogue, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Speaking for the first time on the confrontation that was triggered after China tried to build a road in the Doklam area, a disputed region between China and Bhutan, Swaraj said that China tried to change the status quo, prompting India to intervene. She was replying to queries on the dispute between India and China at a tri-junction also bordering Bhutan.
“China came with bulldozers and excavators with an intention to change the status quo. If China unilaterally changes the tri-junction point, then India’s security is challenged,” she said, adding that Bhutan protested in writing to China on the issue.
China has taken an aggressive stand and maintained that it was constructing the road within its territory, and has demanded the immediate withdrawal of Indian troops.
Swaraj said that there is an agreement between India, China and Bhutan signed in 2012 that the countries will come together to discuss border issues in the tri-junction area. “We are saying that the matter can be resolved through talks, but both sides have to first take back their armies,” she said, adding that India’s demands are not unreasonable.
Speaking to the media, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said that India has been in “close contact” with the Bhutan government on the border issue. “India’s approach is to have a peaceful resolution with China,” he said, underlining the understanding at the Astana meeting that differences between India and China should not be allowed to become disputes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in June. “So, it is obvious that every responsible power, person and player in the world prefers peaceful resolution,” Baglay said. Asked whether India has briefed other countries on the issue, Baglay said it would not be appropriate to comment on diplomatic interactions on sensitive matters.
Chinese media reports have said that there has been large transportation of military equipment, army vehicles and troops in Tibet in June amid the standoff. Contradicting the reports, Indian officials say there has been no unusual movement indicating any mobilisation of Chinese troops in the last few months.
Acerbic attack
Liu Youfa, a former Chinese consul general in Mumbai, has called the standoff in Doklam an invasion by India. “As per what I understand of international law, when people in uniform cross the border to move into the territory of the other side, they naturally become enemies who will have to either withdraw voluntarily, be captured or be killed”.
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