THE GOVERNMENT on Wednesday told a parliamentary committee that India will remain firm and will continue to engage with China to avoid another Doklam-like situation along the border.
The government made this clear in a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs, headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, when members raised queries on the Doklam issue.
The panel was briefed on India-China relations with a focus on Doklam.
When Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, a member of the committee, asked about New Delhi’s position if the situation escalates again — to the level of the face-off over China’s construction of a motorable road in the Doklam area — Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is believed to have said: “We will be firm…. We will continue to engage with the Chinese government.”
According to a source privy to details of the meeting, Rahul asked several questions on media reports of Chinese action in Doklam even after the 73-day standoff was resolved.
On media reports that Beijing had again started building roads in Doklam, Jaishankar told the committee that New Delhi had no information on China building or widening roads outside its territory. “He said New Delhi (however) cannot object to construction in their (Chinese) territory,” the source said.
The Congress leader is also learnt to have raised questions on reports of Chinese incursions in Ladakh.
The Doklam standoff, which began on June 16, was resolved on August 28, with both sides pulling back troops, and China stopping construction of a road which India had objected to.
At Wednesday’s meeting, there were questions on China’s stand against the US in global politics. Jaishankar apparently said that both India and China have common interests when it comes to Asian affairs, and that “we will see when the situation comes”.
Sources said the government also briefed the standing committee on India’s stand on Rohingya crisis.
Many members, especially those belonging to Opposition parties, asked why New Delhi was not addressing the crisis on humanitarian grounds. “The government briefed the members about its position. He (Jaishankar) said that we have been in discussions with both Myanmar and Bangladesh on the issue,” the source said. “As far as outside support is concerned, India is the biggest supporter to Dhaka in its efforts to accommodate refugees from Rakhine.”