Envoy warns China of repercussions on ties

BEIJING: India on Friday warned China that trying to alter the status quo on the ground by resorting to force will not just damage peace in the border areas but also have “ripples and repercussions” in the broader bilateral relationship, and demanded Beijing stop its activities in eastern Ladakh.

The only way to resolve the standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh is for Beijing to realise that trying to “change the status quo by resorting to force or coercion is not the right way forward”, India’s ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, said.

Asserting that actions taken by Chinese forces on the ground have damaged “considerable trust” in bilateral relations, he said it was entirely the responsibility of the Chinese side to take a careful view of relations and decide in which direction the ties should move.

Noting that maintenance of peace “on the border is sine qua non for progress in the rest of the bilateral relationship between India and China”, Misri said: “The resolution of this issue is quite straight forward from our perspective. The Chinese side

The Chinese side needs to stop creating obstruction and hindrances in the normal patrolling patterns of the Indian troops

VIKRAM MISRI,

India’s ambassador to China

needs to stop creating obstruction and hindrances in the normal patrolling patterns of the Indian troops.”

He said: “So I think there should be a realisation on the Chinese side that there is no gain in trying to alter the status quo on