India & China Cannot Stand Another Doklam: Chinese Envoy to India

The Chinese envoy proposed a trilateral summit between three neighbouring countries of India, Pakistan and China.

Chinese Ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, addressed audiences at a seminar on 18 June. 

(Photo: ANI)

The Chinese ambassador to India, on 18 June, called for China and India to make a joint effort to maintain peace along the border, stating that both countries “cannot stand another Doklam” at a seminar titled “Beyond Wuhan: How Far and Fast Can China-India Relations Go", ANI reported.

In a significant development, Chinese Ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, on Monday proposed a trilateral summit between three neighbouring countries of India, Pakistan and China, following in the footsteps of China, Russia and Mongolia.

Some Indian friends suggested that India, China and Pakistan may have some kind of trilateral summit on the sidelines of SCO. So, if China, Russia and Mongolia can have a trilateral summit, then why not India, China and Pakistan?

Luo Zhaohui, Chinese Ambassador to India at a seminar

The Chinese envoy said the suggestion by "some Indian friends" was indeed a "very constructive" idea.

India-China Emerging Superpowers, Must Explore Ways to be With Each Other: Chinese Envoy

The Chinese envoy asserted that India and China reel under pressure of being the “emerging market economies” and should coordinate and “explore ways to be by each others’ side,” ANI reported.

The envoy’s comments emphasised that the status-quo exists in the backdrop of an era of “rising protectionism and anti-globalisation.”

Of Sino-Indian ties, the Chinese envoy said it is quite natural to have differences but they need to be controlled and managed through cooperation, PTI reported.

"We need to control, manage, narrow differences through expanding cooperation. The boundary question was leftover by history. We need to find a mutually acceptable solution through Special Representatives' Meeting while adopting confidence building measures," PTI quoted the envoy as saying.

Zhaohui also tweeted that China and India have gone “beyond bilateral scope” and that both countries have broad converging interests, including facing similar challenges within and beyond Asia.

He also emphasised the need to enhance coordination and cooperation in the SCO, BRICS and G20 and join hands to tackle “global challenges”.

India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff at Doklam in the eastern section of their border. The crisis erupted after Indian troops halted road construction at Doka La in the region, citing Bhutan's claim to the area.

One of the immediate fallouts of the Doklam standoff was the suspension of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from Nathu-La side and the annual military exercise between the two countries.

China also did not hand over the hydrological data of the Brahmaputra and the Indus river that originates in Chinese Tibet.

The envoy on 18 June said China will continue to promote religious exchanges and make arrangements for Indian pilgrims going to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet.

Post-Doklam Scenario: High-Level Engagements Start Between Two Leaders

There have been frequent high-level engagements between the leaders of the two countries post-Doklam, PTI reported.

This year alone, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met twice in the last two months, in Wuhan and Qingdao.

Luo said the two leaders are also likely to meet on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit and G20 Summit later this year.

He noted that security cooperation is one of the three pillars of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, an eight-member grouping also comprising India, China and Pakistan.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)