New Delhi: With China on Thursday hardening its stand amid the soaring border tensions with India, the expected bilateral meet between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be in jeopardy.
"The atmosphere is not right for a bilateral meeting between President Xi and PM Modi," a Chinese Foreign Ministry official said ahead of the G20 Summit in the German city of Hamburg from tomorrow.
President Xi Jinping and PM Modi were expected to meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit to resolve the standoff.
China and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction for past 19 days after a Chinese Army's construction party attempted to build a road. Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.
Also Read: Chinese media says Beijing should rethink stance on Sikkim's 'independence'
India has said Beijing's action to "unilaterally determine tri-junction points" is in violation of a 2012 India-China agreement. According to the agreement, the boundary will be decided by consulting all the concerned parties.
The two countries share a little over 200 km of border in the Sikkim sector.
China's state-run media on Wednesday had quoted Chinese analysts as saying that Beijing 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.
China shuts Nathu La pass for pilgrims
The China on Wednesday said it was willing to discuss the possibility of alternative arrangements through other routes for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims who had planned the journey via Nathula Pass, suggesting that the mountain pass in Sikkim was not open anymore for the pilgrimage.
'Indian military can choose to return with dignity or be kicked out'
Chinese official media has warned that the Indian military can choose to return to its territory with dignity, or be kicked out of the area by People's Liberation Army (PLA).
A harshly written editorial in Global Times, said that Chinese public believe that PLA is powerful enough to expel Indian troops out of Chinese territory.
The state-run media has also opined that Beijing should reconsider its stance over the Sikkim issue.
The state-controlled media has urged the Chinese citizens to “fuel” pro-independence movement in Sikkim. “As long as there are voices in Chinese society supporting Sikkim's independence, the voices will spread and fuel pro-independence appeals in Sikkim,” the report stated.
India of 2017 different from India of 1962, Arun Jaitley reminds China
After China asked the Indian Army to learn from "historical lessons", Defence Minister Arun Jaitley last week said that the India of 2017 is different from the India of 1962.
In an oblique reference to the 1962 war, China had demanded a withdrawal of the Indian troops from the Sikkim sector as a pre-condition for a "meaningful dialogue" to resolve the current stand-off there and asked the Indian Army to learn from "historical lessons".
Also Read - Withdraw troops 'immediately' and 'unconditionally' before talks, China tells India
Mincing no words, Jaitley, meanwhile, said at an event: "If they (China) are trying to remind us, the situation in 1962 was different, the India of today is different."
The minister added that the Bhutan government had made it clear that China was trying to claim Bhutanese land and said this was "absolutely wrong".
