Says the issue had ‘nothing to do with the tri-junction point’ and China had not breached the 2012 agreement

China said on Friday that “ulterior motives” prompted India to include the tri-junction with Bhutan in the Sikkim stand-off and asserted that New Delhi’s acceptance of the 1890 Sino-British treaty on the boundaries in the area should not change with the passage of time.

“The so-called tri-junction point as the name implies is a point instead of a line or an area,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here.

Asked about India’s assertion that China is violating the agreement reached by the Special Representatives on the boundary in 2012 over the tri-junction, Mr. Geng said the road being built by China had nothing to do with it.

‘Trespass by India’

Mr. Geng said the convention between Great Britain and China relating to Sikkim in 1890 stated that the Sikkim section of the boundary commences from the east of Mount Gipmochi.

“The illegal trespass by the Indian troops took place at the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary, 2,000 metres away from the Mount Gipmochi,” he said. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson asserted that the issue had “nothing to do with the tri-junction point” and China had not breached the 2012 agreement.

Asked to provide exact coordinates of the tri-junction, he said he had no information on it. Mr. Geng also sought to justify China’s road building, saying that it was not part of the Doklam area.

Questions India’s stand

He questioned India’s stand that Doklam is part of the strategic tri-junction also known as the Chicken’s Neck, which is the key corridor connecting India with its north-eastern States. “In disregard of the boundary convention, the Indian side takes entire Doklam area as part of the tri-junction. That is out of ulterior motives,” Mr. Geng said.