Amid the ongoing standoff at the India-China border in Sikkim, it now seems like China cannot make up its mind on whether the number of Indian troops at the border has declined or increased. After claiming that the number of Indian soldiers keeping a vigil at the border had gone down, Beijing has now said that India is building up troops and repairing roads in the region.
A statement by the Chinese foreign ministry has said that the Indian troops are yet to withdraw from the region, despite Beijing warning them time and again that the only way to solve the issue is through talks, which is possible only after the Indian troops back down.
"It has already been more than a month since the incident, and India is still not only illegally remaining on Chinese territory, it is also repairing roads in the rear, stocking up supplies, massing a large number of armed personnel," the foreign ministry said in a statement, according to CNBC. "This is certainly not for peace."
Beijing also slammed India for only talking about peace and not acting on it. "Indian side is always keeping 'peace' on the tip of its tongue. But we should not only listen to its words but also heed its deeds," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang noted.
Strangely, just a few days ago, Beijing, in a 15-page statement had said that the number of Indian soldiers keeping vigil at the Doklam region had fallen to 40 by the end of July from the peak of about 400. The statement also said that about 270 armed soldiers had entered about 100 metres into the Chinese territory with bulldozers and halted China's road construction.
"Over the following days the number of Indian trespassers reached 400 with two bulldozers and three tents, and reached as deep as 180 metres [into Chinese territory]," the statement said, according to the South China Morning Post. "By the end of July, 40 Indian people and one bulldozer remained."
While many believed that through the statement, China was trying to broker peace, but Shuang claimed that the detailed statement was to "further explain to the international community the truth about Indian army's intrusion, and fully state the position of the Chinese government."
India and China have been blaming each other for intruding into the border. While the Indian side had said that the Chinese troops intruded into the Indian border in Sikkim and destroyed bunkers in June, the People's Liberation Army accused India of creating issues by halting a road construction in the area.
"Under such circumstances, instead of deeply reflecting on its mistakes, the Indian side fabricated such sheer fallacies as the so-called 'security concerns', the 'issue of tri-junction' and 'at the request of Bhutan' as excuses to justify its wrongdoing," Beijing's statement added, reported Press Trust if India.
