China dismisses Arun Jaitley's remarks over 1962 conflict

Even as the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, trading a fresh stern diplomatic warning, experts in Beijing warned of a war, in case the standoff at the Doklam area is not handled properly. Speaking to the state-run Global Times, the experts added that China will "resolutely safeguard its sovereignty in the border conflicts with India even at the cost of war".

When asked about Jaitley statement that 'India today is very different from what it was in 1962', when both countries fought a war, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Monday said: "He is right in saying that India in 2017 is different from 1962, just like China is also different. Repeating that India must pull back the soldiers who he accused of entering into Chinese territory on the other side of the Sikkim border, he warned that his country will take all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial sovereignty.

On Friday, Jaitley said that Beijing has instigated the military stand-off by building a road along the Himalayan border that is a security concern for India. Beijing on its part accuses soldiers of crossing from the north eastern state of Sikkim into its Tibetan territory to stop the road building and says it controls the territory under an 1890 accord made with Britain. Bhutan has also lodged a formal protest to China, saying the road violates a bilateral agreement. Bhutan, which does not have diplomatic relations with China, still disputes sovereignty of the land. The Chinese government spokesperson, however, accused India of using Bhutan as a "cover up" for the "illegal entry" into the Doklam area.

In Beijing, a government-controlled newspaper Global Times, in a report, warned of war, if the standoff continues. "There could be a chance of war if the recent conflict between China and India is not handled properly, noting that China will resolutely defend its territory and safeguard the border," the Global Times report quoting observers said. "China is also different from what it was in 1962," Wang Dehua, a professor at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies told the daily. "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," the daily said.

Experts called on both sides to resolve the conflict through dialogue and negotiations, it said. "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, told the newspaper. "A conflict between the two may give other countries a chance to take advantage, for example, the US," he said. "India should change its hostile attitude toward China as a good relationship is beneficial for both sides," Wang said.

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. "India is trying to catch up with China in the construction of frontier defence," Zhao said.