‘Our restraint has bottom line’: Beijing warns India on Doklam

No country should underestimate the confidence and capability of Chinese forces to safeguard peace and their resolve to defend national sovereignty, security and development interests

China on Friday warned its restraint has a “bottom line” and demanded that India immediately withdraw its troops from Doklam to end a military standoff near the Sikkim border that is currently in its second month.

A statement issued by the defence ministry said “goodwill has its principles and restraint has its bottom line”, adding the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had shown a high level of restraint.

This was the latest in a string of strongly worded Chinese statements that put the onus of ending the face-off in the Doklam or Donglang region on India. New Delhi has said both sides should pull back their troops before talks can begin.

The statement said Indian border troops illegally crossed the border into Chinese territory on June 18 and obstructed road construction work on the Chinese side.

“Since the incident occurred, China has shown utmost goodwill and sought to communicate with India through diplomatic channels to resolve the incident. Chinese armed forces have also shown a high level of restraint with an eye to the general bilateral relations and the regional peace and stability,” defence ministery spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said.

The statement was released a day after India’s external affairs ministry said peace and tranquillity on the India-China boundary constituted an important prerequisite for the smooth development of bilateral relations.

The Chinese statement rejected India’s view and said this was a delaying tactic.

“Ren urged the Indian side to give up the illusion of its delaying tactic, as no country should underestimate the Chinese for

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