External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Lok Sabha that status quo was being maintained at the Doklam trijunction and that the issue had been resolved in August last year through “diplomatic maturity.”
Responding to a question raised by Sugata Bose of the Trinamool Congress during question hour, Ms. Swaraj said the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in April this year, was without any fixed agenda, which is why the word “Doklam” was missing from reports of the meeting.
“There were three main aims of the informal summit: firstly to create a cordial environment for the two leaders to talk, secondly to improve mutual understanding and thirdly to foster mutual trust. All three aims have been advanced by the summit,” she said.
“We have resolved the Doklam issue with diplomatic maturity without losing any ground. There is no change in the status quo (on the ground). There is not an iota of change. The face-off was resolved on August 28, 2017,” she said.
Ms. Swaraj said as a follow-up to the Wuhan summit, the Chinese Defence Minister will visit India to enhance military cooperation, while the Foreign Minister will arrive later this year. To another query, raised by Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) MP Prem Das Rai, Ms. Swaraj made it clear that the boundary dispute between Bhutan and China was continuing and it was a matter between those two countries. “Our concern was related only to the trijunction area (India-Bhutan-China),” she said.
Open seas
Replying to a question regarding the South China sea dispute, Ms. Swaraj said India believed that the international sea route should be free for navigation.
“There should be freedom of navigation. Our stand on the South China Sea is clear that there should be freedom of navigation and all international laws should be adhered to,” she said.
President Jinping has accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation for visiting India for the second informal summit at a mutually convenient time in 2019, Ms. Swaraj said.