China welcomes NSA Ajit Doval's meeting with his counterpart

Despite the Chinese Defence Ministry talking tough on Monday morning, a diplomatic window has opened up, with its Foreign Ministry welcoming India's National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval for a one-on-one meeting with his counterpart, Yang Jiechi. Doval will be in Beijing from July 27-30 for meetings between the NSAs of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that while it was not aware of a Yang-Doval meeting, there was a tradition of host countries arranging bilateral meetings between the heads of the delegations at the summit. Beijing has so far ruled out any talks over the border row until India withdraws troops from Doklam in the Sikkim sector.

"As far as we know, during the previous meetings, the host arranged for the heads of the delegations to hold bilateral meetings, in which they exchanged views on bilateral relations, BRICS cooperation and multilateral affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

Earlier in the morning, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian asserted that his country will safeguard its security interests at 'any cost' as its sovereignty was 'indomitable', amid a stand-off with India in the Sikkim sector. "China will safeguard its security interests at any cost. India should not leave things to luck and not harbour any unrealistic illusions," he said, ahead of the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). He also urged India to "correct its mistake".

Stating that the PLA has taken emergency measures in the region and continues to increase focused deployments and drills, he said, "We strongly urge India to take practical steps to correct its mistake, cease provocations, and meet China halfway in jointly safeguarding the border region's peace and tranquility."

Both Doval and Yang are Special Representatives of their respective countries in the boundary talks. This will be their second meeting as the two had met briefly in the first week of July at Hamburg on the sidelines of G-20 summit. Armed with solemn treaties and old British-era maps, Doval will point out that Dolam, or Doklam, is a disputed territory. This is to counter China's claim of a 1890 treaty with the British, as no demarcation exists on ground, and it was Beijing that vacillated on the demarcation with the British and also later.

Doval's meeting with Yang will set the future course in the recent military standoff between the two neighbours, easing the ongoing tension played through media on both sides. India wants a mutual withdrawal of forces as a way forward.

For India, the demarcation of the 3488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto boundary, is a solution meeting two parameters — use of the watershed principle and acceptance of the "present actualities" as suggested back in April 1960 by the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.

Despite the face off between the two countries, at least three ministers have visited China for the BRICS-related meetings. They are Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, Health Miniser JP Nadda and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma.

Last week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had told Rajya Sabha that China intends to unilaterally change the status of the tri-junction with Bhutan, which poses a challenge to India's security. She had said that there was a written agreement between India, China and Bhutan in 2012 that the three nations will together decide on the boundaries at the tri-junction point.