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Context
China on Monday slammed comments by the Chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat as “unconstructive,” and said his remarks did not conform to the spirit of September talks in Xiamen between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi
What did Gen Rawat say?
- During last week’s press conference, Gen. Rawat had said that India needed to shift its military focus from its western border with Pakistan to its northern border with China. He had also observed that if China was strong, India was not weak either
- Besides, he had highlighted the possibility of the return of Chinese troops to Doklam — an area that was the scene of a tense 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese troops last year
Chinese reaction
China said that in September, the leaders of India and China reached some important consensus on properly handling the differences and promote China-India relations
- Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior officials not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and do not conform to the efforts made by the two sides to improve and develop bilateral relations. It cannot help to preserve tranquility and peace in the border areas
