India should not comment on Chinese construction in Doklam: Beijing (Lead)

Beijing Jan 19 (IANS) China on Friday said Doklam is Chinese territory and India has no business to comment if it builds infrastructure in the region.

Some satellite images purportedly show massive infrastructure build-up in Doklam by China as close as 81 meters to the point of face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the disputed plateau last year.

In India the Congress party has accused the Modi government of snoozing while China kept building infrastructure in Doklam even after the resolution of military stand-off last year.

"I don t know who offers such kind of photos. I don t know the detailed information " Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said when asked about the images.

"You must be quite clear. Donglong (Doklam) always belongs to China and is always under China s effective jurisdiction. There is no dispute in this regard " Lu said.

"China is exercising its sovereignty in its own territory. It s legitimate and justified. Just as China will not make comments about Indian construction of infrastructure on India s territory we hope other countries will not make comment on China s construction of infrastructure on its territory " Lu said.

Lu said the Chinese construction in Doklam was done to patrol the border and protect the lives of its troops and residents.

India and Chinese troops were locked in a 73-day stand-off at Doklam which is claimed by Bhutan.

The face-off began when the Indian military halted road building by the Chinese at Doka La in the region which is very close to India s highway.

Even as both sides resolved the crisis by retreating from the point of face-off in August news reports suggested that China was busy building infrastructure to fortify its position in the region.

The Indian government says the status quo at Dokla La in Doklam remains unaltered.

Asked if there could be another stand-off Lu said: "We hope Indian side learn the lesson and avoids the incident to happen again."

Lu invoked the meet between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS Summit in Xiamen last year where the two leaders agreed to promote peace between the two countries.

--IANS
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