India must withdraw troops from Doklam to end stand-off in Sikkim: Chinese media

India acted recklessly by stopping China from carrying out construction activity on its own soil, Beijing’s official news agency Xinhua said on Sunday, accusing New Delhi of violating international law.

The commentary in Xinhua, owned and controlled by the Chinese government, is a reflection of the leadership’s position. Beijing has over the last week released photographs and maps to buttress its claim that Indian troops entered Donglang area — a region claimed by China and Bhutan — and violated its sovereignty.

“India has claimed that China’s activities caused a ‘serious security impact’ (for India), it is untenable. How can China affect others in their own territory? In fact, it is the Indian side that has ignored international law and has seriously interfered with China’s construction activities,” the piece said.

India’s ministry of external affairs rejected the Chinese accusations, calling the road construction at the strategic India-China-Bhutan tri-junction “deeply concerning”.

“After India’s independence, the Indian government has repeatedly confirmed it in writing, acknowledging that the two sides have no objection to the border between the two sides of the Sikkim section,” it said.
The Indian border troops’ attempt to stop the Chinese military from constructing the road in the Doklam area has “cast a shadow over China-India relations”, the commentary titled ‘Don’t deviate from the consensus on developing China- India relations’ said, reiterating China’s official stand on the issue.
While China has cited the Sino-British Treaty to buttress its claims, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi in a statement yesterday said that “where the boundary in the Sikkim sector is concerned, India and China had reached an understanding also in 2012 reconfirming their mutual agreement on the ‘basis of the alignment'”.