Ajit Doval and Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi

BRICS NSAs’ meeting

until India withdraws troops from Doklam

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Amid Doklam row, PM sends b'day wishes to Xi, Li

BEIJING: China has hinted that a bilateral meeting between National Security Adviser (NSA)could be on the cards on the sidelines of a meeting of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) NSAs in the Chinese capital this week.China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he couldn’t confirm whether the two would meet, but added that, at past meetings of BRICS NSAs, it has been a tradition for the officials to hold bilateral talks. Theis scheduled for July 27-28.Beijing has so far ruled out any talks over the border row, a disputed territory between China and Bhutan that juts Sikkim.Meanwhile, despite India and China’s aggressive stance at the border amid a month-long stand-off over a proposed Chinese road in Bhutan’s Doklam plateau, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang on their respective birthdays through his page on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.However, with China’s defence ministry warning India on Monday not to “harbour any unrealistic illusions” about China’s security interests, the statement only the latest in a string of bellicose remarks from Beijing, Modi’s “birthday diplomacy” seems to have yielded little result so far.On Xi’s birthday on June 15, Modi had conveyed his best wishes to him by taking to Weibo. “I met him in Astana SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit a few days ago, and we had effective talk on how to develop Sino-India relationship,” the PM had said.Modi also referred to this meeting in another post on June 9, soon after India and Pakistan joined the SCO.The Prime Minister went on with his interaction on the Chinese social media even as the attack by China’s official media turned scathing with each passing day.The PM has taken to Weibo six times ever since the stand-off between the two countries began in mid-June. His last post was on July 1 to greet Li on his birthday. Modi has an impressive following of 1,69,119 on Chinese social media.As many as 1,089 Chinese responded with comments to his six postings, only a few of them about Doklam. “Narendra Modi, you should call for the complete withdrawal of troops now!” said one Weibo user, for example.Modi posted two comments about International Yoga Day, and in one of them he congratulated the Chinese for practising yoga. He also expressed grief over the deadly mudslide in Mao Xian area of Sichuan province on June 25.