National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will be travelling to the BRICS Summit in China, says the MEA. Briefing the media on the standoff with China, MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said diplomatic channels and diplomatic communication between the two countries have never stopped and neither have they been broken.

When asked who had initiated Doval's China visit, Baglay said, "In such sensitive matters who has made an offer and who reacted or not, it's best left to diplomats to conduct what they are good at."

Baglay said differences between India and China should not become disputes. "Our approach is to find peaceful solutions to border issues," Baglay said.

China said today that diplomatic channels with India remained "unimpeded" to discuss the military standoff in Sikkim sector but reiterated that the
withdrawal of the Indian troops from Doklam area is a "precondition" for any meaningful dialogue. "Our diplomatic channel is unimpeded," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters, confirming talks between
Indian and Chinese missions to resolve the standoff.

In New Delhi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the matter can be resolved through talks. "We are willing to talk, but both sides have to first
take back their armies," she told the Rajya Sabha. The minister said the boundaries between India and China are yet to be finalised and the two countries will do that bilaterally through discussions, while the same between China and Bhutan too will be done through bilateral talks. She accused China of building roads using bulldozers and excavators, which has been protested by Bhutan in writing to China.

Chinese and Indian soldiers have been locked in a face-off for over a month after Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from constructing a road near the Doklam plateau, fearing it may allow China to cut India's access to its northeastern states.

India has conveyed to China that the construction of the road would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for New Delhi.


File pic:  National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval with China's State Councillor, Yang Jiechi at the 19th India-China Boundary talks in Beijing in 2016.