Unconditional withdrawal of Indian troops only solution to Doklam stand-off: China
Indian troops at Doklam
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said India's reasons to stop Chinese road building activity in Doklam area were 'ridiculous'
China once again dashed hopes of an early solution to the stand-off in Doklam after it called India's objections to its constructing a road in the disputed region "ridiculous" and said the unconditional withdrawal of Indian troops from the area was the only solution.
China continued to insist that Indian troops "illegally crossed the boundary".
"So the only prerequisite and condition of this incident is the unconditional withdrawal of the Indian troops and equipment," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
"China loves peace and firmly upholds peace". At the same time we will safeguard our territorial sovereignty and integrity," Hua said.
"We will not allow any country or any individual to infringe upon China's territorial sovereignty," she said.
China's statement comes a day after home minister Rajnath Singh said he hoped that a solution to the standoff in Doklam would be found soon and that Beijing would make a "positive" move.
Rajnath Singh yesterday said India never attacked a nation nor did it harbour any expansionist behaviour.
India and China have been involved in a stand-off in Doklam for over two months. The face-off began after Indian troops stopped Chinese military from building a road in the region which Bhutan claims as its own.
China claims sovereignty over Doklam.
In a separate incident on August 15, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in stone pelting in Ladakh region that resulted in minor injuries to soldiers on both the sides.