This is not ’62, China warned

Amid a border flare-up with China over the its bid to build a road in Bhutanese territory, New Delhi on Friday told Beijing that its recent actions have “serious” security implications even as defence minister Arun Jaitley hinted that the neighbour should not to underestimate the country’s military might.

Sending a strong message to China after its threat that New Delhi should not forget the historical lessons of the 1962 war, Mr Jaitley said, “If they are trying to remind us…the situation in 1962 was different and India of 2017 is different.”

The ministry of external affairs broke its silence on Friday by saying that it is “deeply concerned at the recent Chinese actions and has conveyed to the Chinese Government that such construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India”.

Amid a border flare-up with China over its bid to build a road in Bhutanese territory, New Delhi on Friday told Beijing that its recent actions have “serious” security implications even as defence minister Arun Jaitley hinted that the neighbour should not underestimate the country’s military might.

The reaction came a day after Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar reviewed the situation in the Sikkim sector following the Chinese belligerence.

The MEA broke its silence for the first time after the Indian Army made its first military intervention of sorts two weeks ago on behalf of Bhutan by physically blocking Chinese troops from constructing a road in the Bhutanese “Doklam area” border territory near Indian border defences.

As per the latest position, Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a face-off in the area, but there has been no combat situation. With the Chinese dragon breathing fire, India also said it was engaged diplomatically with Beijing on the matter.

“The Bhutan government had issued a statement yesterday in which it made it clear that the land in question belonged to Bhutan. It is located near India’s land. There is an arrangement between India and Bhutan for giving security,” the defence minister was quoted as saying.

On Thursday, China asked India to withdraw its troops from the Donglong as a precondition for a “meaningful dialogue” to settle the boundary issue, warning that the Indian Army should learn “historical lessons”, in a reference to the 1962 war.