Talks, not war, the solution: Sushma

CHINA STANDOFF India says will ‘engage patiently’ on Doklam

NEWDELHI: War was not a solution and India would resolve the border standoff with China through dialogue, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday, as the Communist neighbour again asked New Delhi to withdraw troops from Doklam if it wanted peace.

It was not possible to resolve every issue through war and solutions could be found through talks, Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha about the standoff between the border guards of the two countries close to Sikkim in India’s northeast.

“Patience and bhasha saiyam (restraint) are very important to resolve the issue. If there is no restraint, it provokes the other side,” Swaraj said during a fourand-a-half-hour discussion on India’s foreign policy and engagement with strategic partners.

Opposition member raised various issues including Doklam standoff, China’s attempts to encircle India and New Delhi’s Pakistan policy.

“Countries have armies to stay prepared for war. But war is not a solution to anything. Even after war, there has to be a dialogue. So have dialogue without a war,” she said.

Faced with an aggressive Opposition charge led by the Congress, Swaraj hit back at the party over Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with Chinese ambassador Luo Zhaohui in July.

Without naming the Congress vice-president, Swaraj said the Opposition leader met the Chinese envoy without seeking information about the standoff from the government.

The Opposition leader should have first understood the government’s viewpoint on and then met the Chinese envoy and conveyed him India’s viewpoint, the minister said.

“You should have first sought details from the government and then confronted the Chinese envoy,” she said.

Even after war, there has to be a dialogue. So, have dialogue without a war... Patience, control on comments and diplomacy can resolve problems. SUSHMA SWARAJ, External affairs minister