China asks India to withdraw troops
BEIJING/NEW DELHI: A Chinese daily on Tuesday blamed Indian NSA Ajit Doval for the dragging border row even as Foreign Minister Wang Yi, reacting to the crisis for the first time, asked New Delhi to withdraw troops from Doklam.
The heightened rhetoric came Indian Army’s Vice Chief Sarath Chand said China was bound to be a threat to India in the years to come.
Addressing a seminar in New Delhi, Lt Gen Chand said: “On the north, we have China which has a large landmass, huge resources and a large standing Army... Despite having the Himalayas between us, China is bound to be a threat for us in the years ahead.”
The Chinese Foreign Minister held India responsible for the stand-off that began last month at Doklam in the Sikkim sector and said the solution to the crisis was “simple” — India must withdraw its troops from Doklam.
Bhutan and India say Doklam is Bhutan’s while China claims the territory.
“The rights and wrongs are very clear and even senior Indian officials have openly stated that Chinese troops did not enter into Indian boundary. So India has admitted it crossed into the Chinese territory,” said Wang.
“The solution is very simple. India must conscientiously pull back its troops,” he said.
An editorial in the state-run Global Times, run by the Communist Party of China, warned India that it will pay “a heavy price” if its troops didn’t exit from Doklam.
The scathing editorial came down heavily on Doval, who will travel to Beijing on Thursday for a meeting of BRICS NSAs, calling him “one of the main schemers” behind the border row. It said that his trip to China won’t help settle the issue.
“Doval is believed to be one of the main schemers behind the border standoff. Doval will inevitably be disappointed if he attempts to bargain with Beijing over the border disputes.”