China on Thursday declined to give any timeline for withdrawal of its troops from Depsang valley in Ladakh but said the issue that has sparked new tension in bilateral ties will be resolved soon through negotiations.



"You raised a very specific question and I want to reiterate that Chinese troops carry out normal patrols on Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying told a media briefing.



She was replying to a question about how long the Chinese troops intend to stay put at the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO).



"China and India are talking about the issue for a complete and appropriate settlement of the issue," she said referring to the current rounds of negotiations between army officials.



While China was playing hardball the ante, India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid was busy in his world of metaphors as he compared India with legendary boxer Muhammad Ali who tired his adversaries and then with a single left hook, floored them.



Maintaining that India has such a history - that if someone wants to take a few blows at it, the country will be able to withstand them, he said, "All we should know is how to protect the face, how to protect the muscle that we would need to strike back.



"I think in South Asia we see ourselves (India) as a little bit like Ali of those days which should be. We should know that we have the strength, we have the stamina, we have the bulk, that we have the presence, the reputation and we have the history that if someone wants to take a few blows at us we will be able to withstand them."



As carried by Mail Today on May 3, 2013.