Negotiation solved crisis: China

BEIJING : Several rounds of closed-door negotiations between Indian authorities and the Chinese military were held to peacefully resolve the military standoff in the Donglang region, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer said on Sunday.

Hailing the resolution of the standoff as the result of efforts by both sides, Liu Fang, staff officer from the International Military Cooperation wing of the Central Military Commis- sion, said the issue is “safely resolved right now”.

Liu was speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing 19th national congress of the Communist Party of China.

He said officers from the Chinese military and other ministries worked very closely and held several rounds of negotiations with Indian officials.

“All this contributed a lot to the peaceful resolution of the China-india cross-border dispute,” Liu said.

In June, China had accused Indian troops of trespassing into Donglang, a disputed territory on the China-bhutan-india trijunction. Beijing claims it to be Chinese territory but Bhutan disputes it.

The standoff was resolved towards the end of August, after India said it had agreed with China to pull back troops. Reports from Donglang also suggested Beijing has halted work on a road that triggered the row.

The resolution was announced days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to China to attend this year’s BRICS Summit.