China accuses India of legitimizing border incursion

China on Thursday accused India of taking the protection of Bhutan as an excuse to legitimize its border incursion into China.

“India’s intention is very clear, which is to use the socalled security concern as well as protecting Bhutan as a pretext to cross the China- India boundary at the Sikkim section and enter the Chinese territory of Doklam,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.

By creating disputes in Doklam, India intends to obstruct border negotiations between China and Bhutan, Geng told a routine news briefi ng. Doklam is part of Chinese territory and there is no dispute over it, Geng said.

China and Bhutan started their border negotiations from the 1980s, and have held 24 rounds of talks so far.

Though the China- Bhutan boundary is not offi cially demarcated, both countries have a basic consensus on the practical condition and border line of their border region, he added.

“China observes relevant agreements with Bhutan, and China’s activities in Doklam have not violated any bilateral agreement nor disrupted the status quo,” he said.

India’s Ministry of Externals Aff airs has spoken of “serious security implications.”

Branding China’s road building with security implications is “ludicrous,” said the spokesperson, adding that India has built a lot of facilities along the China- India boundary at the Sikkim section over the past years, deployed troops, built fortifi cations on or across the border line, and changed the status quo of the border area.