Maintaining its silence on claims by the Chinese government that India has reduced troop levels on the Doklam plateau where they have been in a standoff with the PLA, the government on Friday said it would not comment on “operational details,” but continued to affirm that “war is not an option” despite rising tensions.
“As far as questions on deployments are concerned, these are operational matters on our side or the other side and would not like to specifically go into them,” said MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay, when asked about comments made by a senior Chinese diplomat in Delhi, who said India had reduced the number of troops sent in to stop a PLA road construction team on June 16, from about 400 at peak levels, to 48 as of Thursday.
“We would continue to engage the Chinese side through diplomatic channels on the basis of the Astana consensus between our leaders,” he added, referring to the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in early June, where they had agreed not to let “differences become a dispute.”
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Asked about what diplomatic channels are still available, given a rising number of threatening statements from China, Mr. Baglay said, “If you understand the signs, you should let a secret remain a secret,” (Ishaaron ko agar samjho toh, Raaz ko raaz ko rahne do), a reference to a 1973 Hindi film song.
The remarks by the Ministry followed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s statement in Parliament on Thursday in reply to questions from the Opposition over the government’s handling of foreign policy in general and the Doklam standoff with China in particular.
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On Friday, facing several questions on the issue from journalists, the MEA added that its refusal to comment on charges made by the Chinese government over the past few days of a “transgression by Indian troops”, didn’t signify that it was unprepared for an escalation in tensions.
“The govt. of course remains prepared. It’s government’s responsibility to ensure the security of its citizens and territory and we remain prepared but EAM [Sushma Swaraj] also said [on Thursday] that war is not an answer and as far as the construction of road is concerned, the development of any part of India is a legitimate interest of the govt. and its responsibility.”
In an interaction with a few journalists, including from The Hindu on Thursday, Chinese Deputy Chief of Mission Liu Jinsong had warned that India would face “serious consequences” if it doesn’t withdraw all its troops from the area under dispute between China and Bhutan, and even discounted India’s position that its troops were there at the request of Bhutan’s government. The diplomat, whose comments were followed by an equally stern message from the Chinese Ministry of Defence who spoke of “limits to restraint”, also claimed that China had notified India about its proposal to undertake road construction on Doklam twice before the standoff began on June 16.
“Royal Govt. of Bhutan and Govt. of India have been in continuous contact through the unfolding of these developments. In coordination with the Govt. of Bhutan, Indian personnel who were present at the general area of Doka La approached the Chinese construction party and urged them to desist from changing the status quo,” Mr. Baglay, who ended his tenure as official spokesperson on Friday, said in response to the Chinese DCM’s comments.