NSA AJIT DOVAL IN CHINA AMID SIKKIM STANDOFF

Amid the Sikkim standoff, national security adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Thursday held talks with his Chinese counterpart and state councillor Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs meeting here.

Yang met separately with senior security representatives from South Africa, Brazil and India, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.Yang separately exchanged views with the three senior representatives on bilateral relations, international and regional issues and multilateral affairs, and set forth China’s position on bilateral issues and major problems, the report said, without giving further details.

Both Doval and Yang are special representatives of the IndiaChina border mechanism.

Doval arrived here on Wednesday to take part in the two-day Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) NSAs meeting being hosted by Yang.

His visit has raised expectations about the likelihood of India and China finding a solution to the over a month-long standoff at Doklam area in Sikkim.

What is, however, likely to complicate the situation further is the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) 90th anniversary on August 1.

A Chinese academic indicated that there is unease and anger within the PLA hierarchy about allowing “foreign troops” on Chinese soil even as the world’s largest armed forces gather to mark their raising day. Donglang is under China’s control but claimed by Bhutan. Beijing has repeatedly said it belonged to China from “ancient times”.

According to reports, President Xi Jinping – the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPEC) and the chairperson of the Central Military Commission — will observe the war games at Zhurihe Combined Tactics Training Base, 400km northwest of Beijing in Inner Mongolia, on August 1. The PLA will certainly not be comfortable with the message that will go out if “trespassing” Indian troops continue to be present in Donglang while Xi is observing PLA’s wargames on its birthday.