‘India must have learnt lessons from Dokalam’

BEIJING: China on Monday asserted that Dokalam belongs to it and India should have “learnt lessons” from the standoff last year, after India’s envoy blamed China for the face-off, saying it happened because Beijing tried to alter the “status quo” in the disputed area. Reacting to India’s Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale’s remarks that were published on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “Donglong (Dokalam) belongs to China because we have historical conventions.”

“China’s activities there are within our sovereign rights. There is no such thing as changing status quo,” she said at a media briefing here. “Last year thanks to our concerted efforts and our wisdom we properly resolved this issue. We hope the Indian side could learn some lessons from this and stick to the historical conventions and work with China to ensure the atmosphere in the border areas is conducive for the development of bilateral ties,” she said.

The 73-day standoff over China’s attempt to build a road close to India’s narrow Chicken Neck area connecting North Eastern states ended in August last year after Chinese troops stopped the road construction at Dokalam in Sikkim Section, though Beijing never officially acknowledged it. The area of the stand-off is also claimed by Bhutan.

The India’s envoy in an interview to Hong Kongbased ‘South China Morning Post’ had blamed China for the stand-off in Dokalam saying it happened because Beijing tried to alter the “status quo” which it should not have. He had said that any change of status quo along the India-china border may lead to another Dokalamlike crisis.

He said that though “no change” has taken place in the standoff site at Dokalam after it was resolved last year, the PLA may be reinforcing its troops “well behind the sensitive area”. Asked about Bambawale’s comments that the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) should be demarcated and delineated, Hua said, China’s position is clear and consistent. The east, middle and western side is yet to be officially demarcated.”