Beijing: As per the media reports the Chinese experts here today in an unequivocal manner has stated that to safeguard its sovereignty in the border conflicts with India even at the cost of war, the statement has come amid a military stand-off between Indian & Chinese troops.
As the stand-off at the Doklam area continued for the third week, the longest between the two countries, the official media and the think tanks here said that “war is possible if the conflict between India and China is not handled properly”.
The situation has become more grim as last week the Indian army mobilised additional troops towards its Sikkim sector,and has don a defensive posture against the Chinese positions. Of the 3,488-km-long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220-km section falls in Sikkim.
China will resolutely safeguard its border sovereignty in conflicts with Indian troops even at the cost of war” reads a quote from the statement given by a Chinese expert to its state run print Global Times.
“If they are trying to remind us, the situation in 1962 was different and the India of 2017 is different,” Indian Defence minister Arun Jaithly reportedly said.
Furthermore, in reply to the statement of Indian Defense Minister, Wang Dehua, a professor at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies while interacting with the media was quoted saying that “China is also different from what it was in 1962.”
“India has been treating China as its biggest competitor since 1962, as both countries share many similarities. For instance, they are both developing countries with huge populations,” Weng said.
“There could be a chance of war if the recent conflict between China and India is not handled properly, observers said, noting that China will resolutely defend its territory and safeguard the border,” said the media reports.
“In 1962, China fought a war with India after the latter encroached on Chinese territory, resulting in the deaths of 722 Chinese troops and 4,383 Indian soldiers.”
“Both sides should focus on development rather than conflict or war,” Zhao Gancheng, director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies was quoted saying by a Chinese vernacular.
“A conflict between the two may give other countries a chance to take advantage, for example, the US,” he further added to its statement.
“India should change its hostile attitude toward China as a good relationship is beneficial for both sides,” Wang Dehua further adds.
The Chinese experts also took exception to reports that India’s Defence Ministry is surveying the China-India border in order to build an “all-weather railway corridor” with broad-gauge network for swift movement of troops and weaponry, reports The Tribune (TT).