Gen Rawat's remarks 'unconstructive': China
January 15, 2018 19:31
China today hit out at Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat for calling Doklam a disputed territory and said that his "unconstructive" comments were not helpful for maintaining peace at the borders.
In an angry rebuttal to Gen Rawat's comments, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said his comments went against the consensus reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit last September to bring ties back on track and preserve peace on the border.
The Chinese reaction came following comments by Gen Rawat two days ago that India needs to shift focus from its border with Pakistan to that of China and spoke of pressure being exerted by Beijing along the Line of Actual Control.
"Last year, India-China relations have witnessed some twists and turns," Lu said and referred to Modi-Xi consensus and the high-level talks since December to improve the ties.
"The dialogue and consultation have shown sound momentum of improvement and development," he said.
"Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior official (Gen Rawat) not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state but also do not conform to the efforts made by the two sides to improve and develop bilateral relations," Lu said.
The remarks "cannot help to preserve the tranquillity and peace at the border areas," areas he said.
Asked what were Gen Rawat's specific comments that China is taking exception to, Lu pointed to the Indian Army chiefs remarks on Dokalam wherein he said it is a disputed territory between Bhutan and China.
"I have made myself clear, if the senior official according to the report referred to the Donglang, I think you are clear about our position, Donglang belongs to China and has always been in the effective jurisdiction of China," Lu asserted.
He reiterated China's stand that the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary has been delimited by the 1890 "historical convention" between the then British government and China, which Beijing claims settled the boundary in that particular section spanning to about 200 kms.
China wants India to settle the boundary in that particular section based on the treaty while the two sides negotiated for a settlement for the rest of the LAC which spans about 3,488 kms. So far the two sides have held 20
rounds of border talks to resolve the issue. -- PTI
TOP STORIES
© 2024 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances