New Delhi: China has told India that the special envoys of the two countries on border issues have no role to play in resolving the Doklam standoff, two people familiar with the developments said.

This, according to Beijing, is because it considers the border at Sikkim to be settled by an 1890 pact signed between Britain, India’s then colonial ruler, and China. China’s stance is said to have been conveyed to India recently, the first person familiar with the development said, requesting anonymity.

New Delhi, however, has not accepted Beijing’s contention as it views the status of Sikkim as settled—that is, as part of India. But New Delhi views the Sikkim boundary as yet to be demarcated between China and India. This means discussions on this segment of the boundary falls within the remit of talks on all the disputed parts of the India-China frontier between the special representatives, the second person said, also asking not to be named.

Tensions between the neighbours have been high since 16 June, with Bhutan objecting to an attempt by Chinese troops to build a road on the Doklam plateau. Indian troops stationed in Bhutan under a special security arrangement then intervened to keep Chinese troops at bay, triggering the face-off.

The Chinese position comes in the backdrop of a meeting in Beijing between India’s special representative on border talks, national security adviser Ajit Doval, and his Chinese counterpart, state councillor Yang Jiechi. Doval met Jiechi while on a visit to Beijing for a meeting of the national security advisors of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa group of emerging economies on 26-27 July.

A PTI report from Beijing said that China’s Yang conveyed Beijing’s firm stand to Doval that India must take “concrete actions" by immediately pulling back troops from the Doklam plateau with “no strings attached" to resolve the standoff.

According to Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor of Chinese Studies at the Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, China’s move to convey to New Delhi that the special representatives have no role to discuss the Doklam standoff is aimed at buttressing its demand that India move back its troops from the plateau before Beijing agrees to any talks with India on the subject.

“Whenever we had problems in this area (Sikkim) in the past, it has been discussed in the context of the border dispute," Kondapalli said. “China’s move is aimed at not providing any scope for discussion before India fulfils its demand of pulling back its troops from Doklam. This is untenable from India’s point of view," he said.

“This also seems to be aimed at provoking India but India is unlikely to respond beyond what it has already said, which is that its troops are in Bhutan in response to its commitment to security to Bhutan and that India’s security is also affected by the Chinese presence in Doklam," Kondapalli said.

Last week, in a statement to Parliament, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said that points along the boundary that fall at the tri-junction of India, China and third countries—in this case Bhutan—would be settled in consultation among all three countries. This was as per an understanding reached by the special representatives between India and China in 2012, Swaraj said in her statement.

“With regard to the boundary in the Sikkim sector there are still steps to be covered before the boundary is finalized," the minister said in her statement adding that there was “mutual agreement on the basis of the alignment of the India-China border in the Sikkim sector as provided by the convention between China and Great Britain relating to Tibet and Sikkim signed in 1890."

Against the backdrop of the minister’s statement, Kondapalli said, “I don’t think India is likely to say anything more publicly on the subject but go on with quiet diplomacy that it is engaged in with China."

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