Ahead of Modi visit, China lectures India on Doklam “lessons”

Two days after mutual withdrawal of Indian and Chinese troops from Doklam, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed hope that India will learn lessons from this incident and prevent its recurrence. “We hope the Indian side will learn lessons from this incident and prevent similar things from happening again”. Mr Wang added that it was necessary for both sides to keep “mutual respect” and “work out a solution in the long run”. Addressing the media on the upcoming BRICS summit to be held in Xiamen in China, Mr Wang dismissed speculations on the withdrawal of troops being a face-saver for China and maintained that it was India that had trespassed into its sovereign territory in the first place. Mr Wang’s comments came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China to attend the 9^th BRICS summit in the coastal city of Xiamen, and indicate that although the Doklam standoff may have been defused for now, competitive posturing will continue to mark India-China relations. Mr Modi is expected to meet his Chinese host, President Xi Jinping, and discuss a host of bilateral issues to stabilize India-China relations that had come under severe stress during more than two months of standoff between Indian and Chinese troops on the Doklam plateau.