Doklam stand-off put 'severe pressure' on India, China ties: Wang Yi

The Doklam stand-off had put severe pressure on bilateral relations between New Delhi and Beijing, a statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry, quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as telling his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.

He added that lessons should be learnt from the episode so that 'such incidents are not repeated'.

The statement added that Wang had brought up the 73-day stand-off between the Indian and the Chinese troops in the Donglang (Doklam) sector near the Sikkim border in June, during a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi, on Monday. Swaraj had then said at a press briefing that she and Wang had spoken about strengthening mutual trust to develop better understanding.

The statement, published in Mandarin, said: "The viciousness caused by the cross-border infiltration of the Indian border guards put bilateral relations under severe pressure. The matter was finally settled peacefully through diplomatic means, reflecting the maturing of bilateral relations. India-China ties maintained their momentum of development as a whole in 2017. Both sides have made efforts in this regard. But they (the efforts) were not very satisfactory. However, lessons should be learned and (such incidents) should be avoided again."

"With mutual trust, the specific problems are expected to be resolved on the basis of mutual understanding and mutual accommodation," he added.

Wang's visit to New Delhi was the first by a top Chinese official to India after the Doklam stand-off.

He further said, "Without mutual trust, individual problems will continue to overflow and erode the overall situation of bilateral relations. To this end, both sides should strengthen strategic communication at all levels, restore the established dialogue mechanism, deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, and at the same time control the existing differences and safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas."

Wang also called on President Ram Nath Kovind and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

The Dokalam stand-off came to an end on August 28 after the twp sides agreed to withdraw their respective troops from the Doklam plateau and the Chinese troops stopped building a key road close to India's corridor. The road was being built by China in an area also claimed by Bhutan.

India had objected to the construction highlighting its security concerns.

Besides this, Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency also quoted Wang, as saying, "Sino-Indian relations are at a crucial moment when both sides need to make right choice on the future of the bilateral relations.