NEW DELHI, July 3 - The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is exercising restraint in its response to the stand-off with China even as Beijing today reiterated that its border with India in Sikkim is well demarcated and the Indian Army�s action there over the last month is a �betrayal� of the position taken by successive Indian governments.
�Former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru endorsed the 1890 Sino-British Treaty on Sikkim in a letter to the then Chinese counterpart Zhou Enlai in 1959. Successive Indian governments have also endorsed this,� Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told newsmen in Beijing.
He said the border between the two nations in the Sikkim sector is well demarcated under the 1890 Sino-British Treaty. India needs to observe the Treaty and pull back troops immediately from Doklam, he added.
Meanwhile, sources said India has consistently taken a positive approach in settling its boundary issue with China, including the recent stand-off in the Doklam area on the tri-junction of India, China and Bhutan.
India cherishes peace and tranquillity in the areas bordering China and it is committed to working with the neighbouring country to find peaceful resolution of all issues in the border areas through dialogue, sources said.
However, sources pointed out that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement on June 26, alleging that Indian border troops crossed the boundary line in the Sikkim sector of the China-India boundary and entered the Chinese territory. This has been reiterated since then in other Chinese official briefings.
PTI adds: China today dismissed Defence Minister Arun Jaitley�s remarks that India of 2017 is different from what it was in 1962, saying it too is different and warned that Beijing will take �all necessary measures� to safeguard its territorial sovereignty.
Jaitley, who responded to China�s oblique reference to the war the two countries had fought 55 years ago and asking India to learn from �historic lessons�, had said, �If they are trying to remind us, the situation in 1962 was different and India of 2017 is different.�
He had also said the current stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Sikkim sector was triggered by Beijing.
Responding to Jaitley�s remarks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, �He is right in saying that India in 2017 is different from 1962, just like China is also different.�
