China on Thursday said it was unclear whether remarks by Army Chief Bipin Rawat’s advocating India’s readiness to face a two-front war, reflected official policy or were his personal “spontaneous” observations.
“We have noted this statement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in response to a question, underplaying Gen. Rawat’s remarks.
He added: “We have also noted that some Indian press reported his remarks were shocking. We don’t know whether he was authorised to speak those words or whether it was spontaneous, or whether it represented the position of the Indian government.”
"Development opportunities, not threats"
Mr. Geng pointed to the meeting on Tuesday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, where he said that the “two sides are each other’s development opportunities, not threats.”
“We hope India could view China’s development in a correct and rational way. We need to show the world that peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation is the only right choice for the two countries. We should respect each other, seek common ground and shelve differences, and preserve peace and tranquility in border areas,” Mr. Geng observed.
“We hope this military official could see this trend clearly and contribute to the development of China-India relations.”
"Xi-Modi meet buried the Doklam ghost"
The meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President on the sidelines of the Xiamen BRICS summit, had “buried the ghost” of the Doklam face-off between the two sides and opened a new chapter in ties, Indian officials had said.
During a seminar, Gen. Rawat had accused China of embarking on “flexing of muscle," and pursuing "salami slicing” tactics of “taking over territory in a very gradual manner (and) testing our limits of threshold.”
