Chinese FM: Indian troops should withdraw

With China and India currently entangled in a territorial stand-off, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on India to immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from China's Donglang area.

The landlocked state of Bhutan has unwillingly become the focal point of a military stand-off between China and India.

India sent its troops over to the Chinese side of the China-Indian border on a pledge to help its neighbor, at a time when China was constructing a road in the Donglang area near Sikkim last month.

New Delhi has refused to withdraw its troops, despite repeated calls from Beijing.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said this situation differs from previous tensions, because Indian troops illegally crossed a jointly-recognized boundary. "China wants peace and stability in the China-India border areas, but make no mistake, that does not mean we will compromise in any way on the issue of territorial sovereignty," said Lu.

Despite the tensions, India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi have met to discuss the difficulties in bilateral relations in Beijing, contrary to earlier speculation that the two would not have a one-to-one meeting concerning the military stand-off.

(CGTN)