Sikkim standoff: 'No room for negotiations on Doklam, border line is the bottom line,' says Chinese state media

The Chinese state media on Saturday said that there is "no room for negotiations" or any diplomatic solution to the standoff in Sikkim until Indian Army withdraws its troops from the Doka La sector. This comes just days after India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said that diplomatic channels were available to and "being used" by both nations to resolve the conflict. 

Xinhua, the country's official press agency affiliated to the State Council of the Chinese government, said in a commentary late on Saturday that the "border line was the bottom line" for Beijing. This is not the first time that the state media has used this phrase in its articles, commentaries or editorials. 

"China has made it clear that there is no room for negotiations on this incident, and India must withdraw its border-crossing troops from Doklam. For China, border line is the bottom line," the commentary said.

"India has repeatedly ignored China's call for pulling its border-crossing troops from Doklam area back to its own territory. However, turning a deaf ear to China will but worsen the month-long standoff and put itself further into embarrassment," it added.

The commentary further said that "India should not regard the existing situation as the same as or even similar to the previous two standoffs in 2013 and 2014 near Ladakh, a disputed area between China, Pakistan and India in southeastern Kashmir. Diplomatic efforts led the troops' frictions there to a well-arranged end. But this time it is a totally different case."

The standoff between India and China, which began on June 18, is probably the longest in 30 years. It started after China accused India of violating border agreement saying that Indian troops had allegedly entered the Doka La or Doklam region and stopped the Chinese troops from constructing a road. India responded by saying that the border dispute is yet to be resolved and that China should "desist from changing the status quo."

India also accused China of building roads on the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction and its People's Liberation Army (PLA) of intruding into Indian territory in Sikkim and destroying bunkers, while China has claimed India is provoking them and the issue can be resolved only if India withdraws its troops.

Meanwhile, Xinhua in its commentary late on Saturday also said that India had for the first time on June 18 crossed the only "determined border between the two Asian countries."

"Many arguments and protests from China have failed to bring India back to reason. India has to know illegal stay of its troops in Doklam will by no means force a fait accompli there, and that it has to change its mind before things go even worse," it said.

The state media also accused India of having "lied" to the world by saying that it had sent troops to Donglang to help its ally Bhutan when "apparently" the Bhutanese government had not even asked India to intervene. Both Bhutan and China, which do not share any diplomatic relations, have had several rounds of talks to resolve a boundary dispute.

"New Delhi claimed encroachment of its own territory by China before saying it sent troops to 'protect' its 'ally' Bhutan, a sovereign state which has apparently so far made no such an invitation for the sake of that boundary area," Xinhua said.

The news agency, however, praised India's Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar for his "positive remarks in Singapore."

"As an old Chinese saying goes, peace is most precious. It has been noticed that Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar recently has made positive remarks in Singapore, saying that 'India and China should not let differences become disputes'. What China would like to see more are corresponding actions taken by India," it said.

Talking about "anti-China" sentiments in India, Xinhua said: "In recent years, some Indian civil groups, tinted with intense nationalism, have been constantly stirring up anti-China sentiments, even clamouring to boycott 'the commodities of hostile countries' at a time when the situation on China-Indian boundary intensified."