Some Indian leaders making irresponsible remarks: expert

2017-07-24 / Новости

Some Indian leaders making irresponsible remarks: expert

China would ‘not compromise on territorial issues’

While some Indian political figures want to win international support by making irresponsible remarks on the military standoff along China-India border, Chinese experts said that China would make no compromise on the territorial issues, but the upcoming visit of Indian national security advisor for the BRICS summit in September might ease the tensions.

India's Bharatiya Janata Party leader RK Singh said changing the status quo in Doklam will endanger India's vital interests, Indian media Deccan Chronicle reported on Friday.

He also said China should stop making aggressive statements, adding that China is not only "bullying India but the rest of the world."

Chinese experts slammed Singh's remarks on Friday.

"Some Indian political figures want to win support from the international community but their attempts will fail. It is obvious to all that the Chinese government has maintained restraint and is trying to resolve the border standoff with India diplomatically," Wang Dehua, head of the Institute for South and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Municipal Center for International Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.

Wang said that some patriotic Chinese netizens might have made fierce remarks, including solving the issue via military means.

Tensions have grown along the Sikkim section of the China-India border since June with rising speculations about a military clash.

A New Delhi Television report on Tuesday said that Indian "drones have spotted Chinese soldiers, around 3,000 men, and light military hardware about a kilometer behind its frontline. India, too, has forces and light military hardware behind its frontline."

On July 16, China Central Television also aired a video showing a Chinese mountain infantry brigade's live-fire military drills in an undeclared place in the Tibet Plateau.

"Media reports have revealed some information about military activities related to the border standoff. It's natural for both sides to make some preparations since the standoff has lasted for more than a month," Ma Jiali, a research fellow from a Beijing-based think tank, China Reform Forum, told the Global Times on Friday.

Although China does not want a war with India, it is not afraid if it has to when no other means is left to settle the problem, Ma said.

"India, which provoked the incident, should see the worst consequence - military clashes. And China would make no compromises on territorial disputes," Wang said.

"If India wants to achieve its goal by sending troops across the demarcated boundary, China urges India not to do so," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Easing tension

Despite concerns on possible military clashes, Chinese experts reached by the Global Times on Friday said they hope that the upcoming visit of Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval would serve as an opportunity to ease the tension.

The Indian Express reported that Ajit Doval is expected to visit China on July 26-27 for a BRICS meeting and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi might meet with him.

"China would lodge solemn representation with the Indian side during Doval's visit, hoping it could take measures to ease the tension. India may make some requests as a bargaining chip for its pulling out troops," Ma said.

Doval's visit will be key to solving the current dispute and if the two sides failed to reach some agreement on the issue, the China-India ties would be severely damaged, Ma said.

"The ongoing border tension is testing China's patience, and if the border tension remains until September, it would be very embarrassing for Indian leaders to come to China to attend the BRICS summit. This is bad for both China and India as well as other BRICS members," Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times in an earlier interview.