New Delhi: China has clarified that it will continue to exercise its sovereign rights in the Doklam area and will continue to safeguard its territorial sovereignty.
The statement comes just days after Gautam Bambawale, the Indian ambassador to China, in an interview to Global Times said that there should not be any change in the status quo at sensitive points.
“We have said many times that the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary has been defined by the historical convention, and the Dong Lang area belongs to China and has always been under China's effective jurisdiction. China has made it clear that it will continue to exercise its sovereign rights in the Dong Lang (Doklam) area in accordance with the stipulations of the historical convention and unswervingly safeguard its territorial sovereignty,” Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson Hu Chunying said on Monday.
She further added that Chinese infrastructure activities in Doklam are within the sovereignty of China and are “completely legal, legitimate and indisputable.”
“In fact, we have repeatedly seen reports from the Indian media, including some sensational ones, about India building more roads and bridges in the border areas or planning to increase military deployment. I would like to emphasise that it is the consensus of both parties to make joint efforts to safeguard the peace and stability in the border areas. We hope that India could take a rational view of the relevant issue and make joint efforts with China to properly handle the relevant border-related issues through the existing mechanisms,” she said.
She added that China was ready to hold talks with India to resolve their differences on the contentious USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through PoK.
Comments
0 comment