Indian troops' trespassing into Chinese territory is irresponsible and reckless, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks in response to a question regarding China's road building in the Dong Lang area, mentioned in a position document on the border incident.
The document, "The Facts and China's Position Concerning the Indian Border Troops' Crossing of the China-India Boundary in the Sikkim Sector into the Chinese Territory," was released Wednesday.
According to the document, road building in the Dong Lang area on the Chinese side of the Sikkim Sector of the boundary aims to improve local transportation, help local herdsmen and facilitate border patrols.
"China had notified the Indian side about the road works through the border meeting mechanism on May 18 and June 8 and the Indian side did not make any response," Geng said.
Over 270 Indian troops crossed the border on June 18.
"As of August 2, there were still 48 Indian troops and one bulldozer in Chinese territory," he said, adding that there are still a large number of Indian armed forces congregated on the Indian side of the boundary.
India ignored existing mechanisms and channels and flagrantly dispatched armed troops into China and have refused to withdraw, Geng said, calling it illegal under international law.
In response to China's position document, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that peace and tranquility on the India-China boundary was an important prerequisite for the smooth development of bilateral relations.
Geng said the Indian side is always keeping "peace" on the tip of its tongue.
"But we should not only listen to its words but also heed its deeds," he said, noting the Chinese side maintains that relevant facts cannot be ignored.
Firstly, out of goodwill, China had notified the Indian side in advance through border meeting mechanism on May 18 and June 8 respectively. However, the Indian side didn't make any response to the Chinese side through any channel for over one month. Instead, it flagrantly dispatched armed forces carrying equipment to illegally cross the boundary to obstruct China's road building.
"This is by no means for peace," he said.
Secondly, over one month has passed since the outbreak of the incident. The Indian border troops still illegally stay in the Chinese territory. Moreover, the Indian side is building roads, hoarding supplies and deploying a large number of armed forces on the Indian side of the boundary.
"This is by no means for peace," he said.
Thirdly, the fact that the Indian border troops illegally trespassed the boundary is irrefutable. Under such circumstances, instead of deeply reflecting on its mistakes, the Indian side fabricated such sheer fallacies as the so-called "security concerns", the "issue of tri-junction" and "at the request of Bhutan" as excuses to justify its wrongdoing.
"This is by no means for peace," said Geng.
Fourthly, the Chinese side has made serious representations with the Indian side through diplomatic channels for multiple times. Under such circumstances, the Indian side, rather than withdraw its trespassing troops and equipment, made unreasonable demands to China which demonstrated its lack of sincerity for resolving the incident.
"This is by no means for peace," said Geng.
"If the Indian side truly cherishes peace, what it should do is to immediately pull back the trespassing border troops to the Indian side of the boundary," said Geng.
