India intends to obstruct China-Bhutan border negotiations: China

BEIJING, July 6 (APP): China Thursday said India intends to obstruct
border negotiations between China and Bhutan by creating disputes in Doklam, a part of the Chinese territory and there is no dispute over it.
China and Bhutan started their border negotiations from the 1980s, and
have held 24 rounds of talks so far, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said during his regular press briefing here.
He said though the China-Bhutan boundary is not officially demarcated,
both countries have a basic consensus on the practical condition and border line of their border region.
“China observes relevant agreements with Bhutan, and China’s activities
in Doklam have not violated any bilateral agreement nor disrupted the status quo,” he said.
While accusing India of taking the protection of Bhutan as an excuse to
legitimize its border incursion into China, he said, Indian intention is very clear, which is to use the so-called ‘security concern’ as well as protecting Bhutan as a pretext to cross the China-India boundary at the Sikkim section and enter the Chinese territory of Doklam.
Regarding a question about President Xi’s meeting with Indian prime
minister at G20 Summit, he said, “I have no information at hand about whether the leaders of China and India will meet during the G20 Summit.”
He however point out that these days the Indian troops illegally crossed
the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary into China’s territory and obstructed China’s normal activities in the Doklam area.
The spokesperson said this move has infringed upon China’s territorial
sovereignty and undermined the political basis and overall atmosphere of bilateral relations.
“We demand that the Indian side respect the provisions in the boundary
convention and China’s territorial sovereignty, immediately pull the troops that have crossed the boundary back to its own side, and uphold peace and tranquility of the border areas. It is the precondition for any meaningful dialogue between the two sides.”
He said Chinese side has repeatedly said the Indian troops this time
illegally crossed the delimited Sikkim section of the China-India boundary mutually recognized by the two sides.
That is essentially different from the previous border frictions and
stand-offs between the two border troops in undefined areas. India’s trespass into China’s territory has changed the status quo which can only be recovered when the Indian side withdraws.
He said China has the will to peacefully resolve the problem through
diplomatic means and cherishes peace and tranquility in the border areas, but the precondition for all this is the unconditional withdrawal of the Indian personnel who have illegally crossed the boundary.
Geng Shuang said the Chinese side builds roads on its own territory,
which is a justified and legitimate action by a sovereign state.
The Indian side, under the pretext of the so-called ‘security concerns’,
overstepped the defined boundary and entered its neighbor’s territory.
He said over the past few decades, it is India that has built many
facilities, deployed a large number of troops and even built such military installations as fortifications riding or overstepping the border line, which has changed the status quo of the border areas.