Sikkim standoff: China says 'no scope for compromise' in military deadlock, situation is 'grave'

Luo Zhaohui, Chinese ambassador to India, on Tuesday said that India-China military standoff is "grave" in the Sikkim section.

While to taking to news agency PTI, Luo Zhaohui said that there is "no scope for a compromise" in the military standoff with India in the region.

In an unusually blunt remark, "The ball is in India's court" and it is for Indian government to decide what options could be on the table to resolve the standoff."

Asked about remarks by official Chinese media and think-tanks that the conflict can lead to a "war" if not handled properly, the ambassador said in an interview to PTI: "There has been talk about this option, that option. It is up to your government policy (whether to exercise the military option)." The Chinese government is very clear that it wants peaceful resolution at current state of the situation for which withdrawal of Indian troops from the area is a "pre-condition", he asserted.

However, he made it clear that there was no scope for a "compromise" on the issue. "The first priority is that the Indian troops unconditionally pull back to the Indian side of the boundary.That is the precondition for any meaningful dialogue betweenChina and India," he said. China and India have been engaged in a standoff in theDokalam area near the Bhutan trijunction for past 19 days after a Chinese army's construction party came to build a road.

Earlier, a Chinese expert warned India, saying China would be forced to use a “military way” to end the standoff in the Sikkim sector if India refuses to listen to the "historical lessons" being offered by it.

"The ball is in India's court"; it is for Indian govt to decide what options could be on the table to resolve the standoff: Chinese Ambassad

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 4, 2017

As the standoff at the Doka La area continued for the third week, the official media and the think-tanks here have said that “war is possible if the conflict between India and China is not handled properly”.

"No scope for a compromise" in the #militarystandoff with India in the #Sikkim sector Luo Zhaohui to PTI.

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 4, 2017

“China is trying its best to use historical lessons to reason with India and show sincerity in peacefully solving the problem, but if India refuses to listen, then China would have no other choice than to use a military way of solving the problem,” Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the state-run Global Times.

Also Read | Sikkim standoff: Chinese experts warn India, forget history at your own peril