Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Tuesday briefed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on the Doklam stand-off and said that China has been unusually aggressive but India is trying to resolve the issue diplomatically and peacefully.
Giving an overview on the current situation on the border with China in the Sikkim sector, Jaishankar gave a briefing to MPs similar to the one given to leaders of political parties on two occasions last week.
He is believed to have told the committee, headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, that China probably did not expect India to be aggressive in its defence. For China now to step backward will not be an easy decision, the committee was understood to have been told.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was among the members who attended the meeting and raised some pointed questions.
The briefing to MPs took place even as India has been keeping foreign envoys in New Delhi posted about developments on India-China relations.
Sources said that the engagement with foreign missions, including the US, was being done at different levels as they were keen to know the latest situation.
The Chinese side had also briefed envoys, particularly of the P5 countries, on the situation along the border.
Tharoor declined to reveal any details about what transpired at the parliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday.
"Every member was asked to respect confidentiality, and that nothing that transpired inside should be revealed," he told IANS.
--IANS
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