China accuses India of violating 1890 treaty on Sikkim

Describing the Indian security forces act of allegedly crossing the Chinese border near Sikkim area as "very serious," Beijing has accused New Delhi of violating a convention signed in 1890 between Britain and China relating to Sikkim and Tibet.

"The Sikkim section of the China-India boundary has been defined by the Convention between Great Britain and China Relating to Sikkim and Tibet (1890)," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Monday.

Shuang claimed that the successive Indian governments have repeatedly acknowledged, in writing, that it concurs with China on the boundary convention on Sikkim.

"With its armed forces overstepping the defined boundary, the Indian side has breached the historical convention and gone against the UN Charter and the basic principles of international law. Thus, this incident is quite serious in nature," he added.

The convention, which was formally signed between the Qing government of China and the Great Britain in 1890, explicitly stipulates the boundary between Xi Zang of China and Sikkim of the Great Britain, Shuang said.

"Since the founding of the People's Republic of China and the independence of India, successive governments of both sides have all recognized the effectiveness of the convention and repeatedly confirmed that in a series of official documents and talks," Shuang said.

"According to the documents between China and India, since the independence of India, the then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf of the Indian Government, explicitly recognized many times that the convention defined the boundary between Xi Zang of China and Sikkim.

He said that this convention is effective and binding for both China and India.

The present stand-off between India and China emerged after New Delhi expressed its apprehension over Beijing constructing a road in the Sikkim sector of the border.

While India claims Sikkim border as part of its territory, China has said that the area falls on their side as per the 1890 treaty signed between British and China.

Consequently, China suspended the annual Kailash Manasarovar yatra and conceded that the decision to suspend the pilgrimage was due to the border scuffle. It also alleged that the Indian troops had crossed the Sikkim section of the Indo-China border.