New Delhi: China on Tuesday challenge remarks by the Chief of Indian Army Staff, Bipin Rawat that Beijing had thinned down its troops in the Doklam area.
Instead of referring to its troop deployments, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that the “Dong Lang (Doklam) area has all along been part of China and under China’s continuous and effective jurisdiction. There is no dispute in this regard.”
Lu also did not directly refer to Rawat's comment that India and China have sorted out the issue relating to the plans of Chinese troops to construct a road well into the Indian territory at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh in the last week of December.
Lu reiterated China's claims over Arunachal Pradesh which Beijing says is part of South Tibet.
"My colleagues have responded to the question concerning this many times. I need to reiterate that there is a huge dispute on the eastern section of the China-India boundary," Lu said.
It added: “The Chinese border troops’ patrolling and stationing in the Dong Lang area is exercising sovereignty rights in accordance with the stipulations of historical conventions and upholding territorial sovereignty.”
In response to questions, Gen. Rawat on Monday said that China had withdrawn a large part of its troops deployed near Doklam tri-junction in Chumbi valley. “There is major reduction in the Chinese troop strength,” Gen. Rawat said on the sidelines of an Army-industry seminar on indigenisation.
On Doklam, China has been asserting that the area which was also been claimed by Bhutan belonged to it. The Doklam standoff, the longest in recent years between the two nations, ended after China agreed to stop road construction and India withdrew its troops.
But much to the surprise of India, China continued the deployment of its troops in an area close to the site of standoff disregarding its previous practice of pulling out soldiers during the winter.
