Withdraw troops, no other Doklam resolution: Beijing

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 25

China today continued to send hostile signals on the Doklam standoff. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Indian troops must withdraw as senior Indian officials had openly admitted that Chinese troops “did not enter the Indian boundary”. He also demanded that Indian troops must “conscientiously pull back” from the area if they wanted to resolve the issue.

“The rights and wrongs are very clear and even senior Indian officials have openly stated that Chinese troops did not enter the Indian territory,” Wang said yesterday in Bangkok. His comments are significant since this is the first time a senior Chinese government official has commented on the standoff.

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“In other words, the Indian side admitted to entering the Chinese territory. The solution is very simple: conscientiously withdraw,” he said in a brief quote posted on China’s Foreign Ministry website today. In another hard-hitting editorial, the state-run Global Times referred to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval as the “main schemer” and also made it clear that Doval’s visit won’t sway the Chinese. Another publication, China Daily, however, hoped that Doval’s visit would help both countries come to a peaceful resolution.

In an op-ed, GT made no bones about how China views the issue. The fact that Indian troops need to withdraw as a precondition is the basis for any start to a dialogue, it said.

GT drew a dismal picture of Doval’s upcoming visit. “He will inevitably be disappointed if he attempts to bargain on the border disputes,” said the op-ed. 

Doval’s visit to Beijing later this week is primarily to attend the BRICS NSA meet but China indicated yesterday that a bilateral meet is possible between him and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.