BEIJING: The Chinese military conducted live-fire exercises in Tibet amid ongoing tensions between Indian and Chinese troops at the Dokalam area in Sikkim. Chinese media reported that the People's Liberation Army conducted live-fire exercises in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The brigade that conducted the drills was from the PLA's Tibet Military Command, and has since long been stationed around the middle and lower reaches of the Brahmaputra river. The drill included quick delivery of troops and different military units working together on joint attacks.
In videos posted on the internet, soldiers were seen using anti-tank grenades and missiles against bunkers and howitzers for artillery coverage. Radar units identifying enemy aircraft and soldiers using anti-aircraft artillery to destroy targets were also visible.
Both, India and China have been engaged in a stand-off in the Dokalam area, where China has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops. Dola La, is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China staunchly believes it is part of its Donglang region. A 220-km section of the 3,488 km long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, falls in Sikkim.
Most recently, China said India should not use “trespass” into the area as a “policy tool” to achieve its political targets. Asking New Delhi to immediately withdraw its troops in order to avoid any escalation of the situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was in “close communication” with foreign missions in Beijing on the issue. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said, “Since the illegal trespass by Indian border personnel, many foreign diplomats in China felt shocked about this and (wanted) to confirm whether it was true. The Chinese side maintains close communication with the foreign diplomatic missions on the issues they are interested.”
Kang said the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary is mutually recognised by both the sides. “This time Indian border personnel illegally trespassed the boundary into the Chinese territory. We stress that the Indian side should not take the trespass as a policy tool to reach or realise their political targets.” When asked if Beijing had maintained that its patience was running out over the issue, he said, “We have reiterated our position on the illegal trespass by the Indian side. You must be very clear about it. We hope the Indian side can get a clear understanding of the current situation and take immediate measures to withdraw the personnel who have illegally crossed the boundary so as to avoid the escalation.”
Opposition backs Centre’s stand
The government and major opposition parties agreed on the need for India and China to pursue diplomatic options to resolve the Doklam standoff even as they backed the action of Indian troops in stalling a Chinese attempt to build a road through Bhutanese territory.
Opposition leaders were supportive of the Indian position that China has violated the commitments arrived at through the special representatives' dialogue, with Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, a former defence minister, saying China betrayed Nehru and would behave similarly with the NDA government if it let its guard down.
NCP leader Sharad Pawar, also a former defence minister, said India could borrow a leaf from China and be patient in resolving the face-off without resorting to hasty actions. While the opposition leaders supported India's stand, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury asked the government to "introspect" whether its policies on the Dalai Lama and military exercises with the US and Japan had contributed to the tensions.
The interaction saw foreign secretary S Jaishankar explaining that the Chinese claim to the territory near the Sikkim-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction and its invocation of the 1890 Britain-China agreement is misleading. He quoted from a letter written by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959 to belie the Chinese claim that India's first PM had accepted the 1890 treaty over Sikkim approving Beijing's claim on the Doklam area.
"All political parties expressed strong support for India's approach and also for the need for national unity," the official spokesperson said after the meeting. The statement underlined the need for diplomacy while also reiterating support for Bhutan. "The importance of India and China to remain engaged through diplomacy was underlined... The unique nature of the very close and longstanding India-Bhutan relationship was recognised," the spokesperson said.
The government, represented by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and finance minister Arun Jaitley besides Singh, pointed out that India had been forced to respond to unilateral actions and was acting with restraint. It was explained that it was necessary to halt the Chinese advance as it would have seriously threatened India's strategic interests at the tri-junction and the road link between West Bengal and Assam.
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