Miffed over Ladakh road construction, China questions India's stand

India's move was not 'conducive' to peace in the region, said China

China on Thursday accused India of contradicting its words with actions after New Delhi decided to build a road around 20 km near Pangong Lake in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and warned that such a development would only worsen the on-going two-month-long stand-off in Doklam.

"It seems according to the reports the Indian side is slapping its own face. The Indian side is closely following China's road-building recently but India's actions themselves have proven that the Indian side says something and does another. Its words are in complete contradiction to its deeds in terms of border issues," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told Chinese media on Thursday.

Stating that India's move was not "conducive" to peace in the region, Hua said the western sector of the boundary, where India plans to build a road, is not delimited".

Indian Home Ministry has approved the building of a road from Marsimik La to Hot Spring in Ladakh near Pangong Lake along the LAC - the site of a recent scuffle between Indian and Chinese troops.

On the Doklam standoff, Hua Chunying reiterated "the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the trespassing personnel and equipment serves as the prerequisite and basis for the settlement of this incident."

"The two sides have agreed to uphold border areas' peace and tranquility before disputes are settled. The current road construction by the Indian side is not conducive to peace and stability in that area," Hua said.

Hua also said the project "will not help with settlement of the current situation". The India-China stand-off at Doklam, near the Sikkim-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction began when China started constructing a road in the area. India objected to the road construction after the Chinese troops ignored Bhutanese protests, triggering the faceoff from June 16.