India urged to recall troops in incursion

Trespass on Monday undermines peace in border area, Foreign Ministry says

Beijing urged India on Tuesday to immediately withdraw troops that have crossed the Line of Actual Control and to stop its provocation and any moves that may escalate or complicate the situation.

The trespass took place on the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake and near the Reqin Mountain Pass on Monday, once again causing tensions in the border area, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

India's move has seriously violated China's territory and sovereignty as well as agreements and the important consensus reached between the two countries, and has undermined peace in the border area, Hua said at a daily news conference.

China, which has lodged solemn representations to India, has always stood for peaceful and friendly negotiations for fair and reasonable solutions to border issues that both sides find acceptable, Hua said.

The two countries have conducted multiple talks at various levels trying to address the border issues peacefully, Hua said, adding that the Indian trespass violated the consensus reached in these talks, and ran counter to bilateral efforts to ease tensions in the border area.

Ji Rong, spokeswoman for China's embassy in India, also voiced China's firm opposition to the trespass and urged India to "strictly control and restrain its front-line troops" and "earnestly honor its commitments" on Tuesday.

China will not take the initiative to complicate the situation along its border with India, but stands firm to safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday.

China has always been committed to maintaining stability in the border area, Wang said during a trip to France.

Issues occur at the China-India border, which is not yet demarcated, and China hopes to manage those issues through talks with India, Wang said, adding that the two countries should put the issues "in a proper place in bilateral ties".

The two countries should implement carefully the consensus their leaders have reached that China and India share interests greater than their differences, and should manage the differences well and avoid escalation, Wang said.

China and India can complement each other well, and China hopes to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with India to assist India's development, he said.

It will be "a spectacular scene never seen before in the cause of human progress" when the two countries develop together and all their 2.7 billion people embrace modernization, Wang said.

The two countries should also work together to protect the legitimate rights of developing countries and create a greater space for development for emerging economies, Wang said.