Ready to maintain peace on border with India: China after Sitharaman's visit to Nathu La

Nirmala Sitharaman's visited the frontier post, Nathu La, on Saturday.

Pic Courtesy: @nsitharaman

Beijing: Reacting to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's visit to frontier post, Nathu La, China on Monday expressed readiness to jointly maintain peace along the border areas with India.

Beijing also said that Sitharaman visit was the 'best witness' to the UK-China treaty of 1890.

"The Sikkim sector of the China-India boundary has been delimited by the historical treaty of 1890, and the Nathula pass has been the best witness testifying to this fact", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing while reacting to a question on Sitharaman's visit.

"The Chinese side is willing to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas with the Indian side on the basis of observing historical treaties and the relevant agreements and accords between the two sides", he said.

Beijing often referred to the 1890 Britain-China treaty during the Dokalam standoff stating that it has defined the Sikkim section of the boundary with Tibet, therefore the border in that area has been settled.

Nirmala Sitharaman visits India-China border:

When Sitharaman visited the India-China border on Saturday, she did not just review security there but also taught Chinese soldiers how to greet with a `namaste`.

The video clipping of the visit shows a Chinese soldier introducing one of them to the Minister, after which Sitharaman gave the traditional salutation of "namaste".

Acknowledged a row of Chinese soldiers from across the fence who were taking pictures on my reaching Nathu La. @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/7cWImtmfLG — Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) October 7, 2017

The Defence Minister was on a tour to Sikkim after India-China stand-off and was also supposed to visit the stand-off area but could not due to bad weather.

On Sunday, she visited Tezpur as part of her maiden visit to the Eastern Command as Defence Minister.

Meanwhile, yesterday too, China had said that "the Sikkim section of the China-India border has been demarcated by the historical boundary".

"It is the best testimony to this fact. We urge the Indian side to face the facts, abide by the provisions of the historic boundary treaty and the relevant agreement of the parties, and work together with the Chinese side to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas," it had said in a written response to PTI, to a query about Sitharaman's visit.

Of the 3,488-km India-China border which stretches from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220-km section falls in Sikkim.

The Dokalam standoff began on June 16 over the PLA's plans to build a road in the area claimed by Bhutan after which Indian troops intervened to stop the construction as it posed a security risk to the 'Chicken's Neck' - the narrow corridor connecting India with its northeastern states.

China, which earlier opened the Nathu La route for Indian pilgrims to visit Kailash and Manasarovar, closed it after the Dokalam standoff and is yet to reopen it. 

(With PTI inputs)