Sushma Swaraj 'Lied' in Parliament on Border Row, Says Chinese Media

New Delhi: State-controlled Chinese media on Friday accused External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj of “lying” to Parliament over the month-long Doklam standoff.

Sushma had told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that China had attempted to “unilaterally” change the status quo at the Bhutan trijunction, following which the Indian troops intervened. India, she said, has the support of all countries. “They understand that the stand taken by India on the issue is not wrong,” PTI quoted her as saying.

A day later, an editorial in China's state-controlled Global Times called the statements “a lie”.

“Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told her country's parliament on Thursday that ‘all countries are in India's support,’ and said India is alert to the need to protect its security…. She was lying to the parliament,” the editorial said. “First, India's invasion of Chinese territory is a plain fact…. Second, India's military strength is far behind that of China.”

Rejecting New Delhi’s demand for removal of troops in the region, the Global Times said, “China will by no means agree to the withdrawal of troops from both sides in order for talks to be held…. Doklam is Chinese territory…. China cannot afford to lose an inch" of territory.”

The Chinese media, which parrots Beijing’s line since the country has no independent media, has been ratcheting up rhetoric against India in the recent weeks following the face-off between the armies of the two nation in the Bhutan tri-junction. The face-off was triggered when Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from building a road in the area.

China claimed that they were constructing the road within their territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Dokalam plateau. New Delhi has expressed concern over the road building, apprehending that it may allow Chinese troops to cut India's access to its northeastern states.

India has conveyed to the Chinese government that the road construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for it.

Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.

Of the 3,488-km-long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220-km section falls in Sikkim.