China says it will not tolerate even one Indian soldier on its territory

China on Thursday said that it could no longer accept the presence of even a single soldier of India in Doklam – the scene of the current military face-off between the two.

Beijing also contradicted New Delhi's statement that Bhutan had asked India to send troops to Doklam to stop Chinese People's Liberation Army to build a road.

The Chinese embassy in New Delhi put the number of Indian soldiers currently deployed in Doklam (or Dong Lang) precisely at 48. “The number of Indian soldiers (present in Dong Lang) is not important. What is important is the nature of their presence. They have trespassed into the territory of China. Their presence in Dong Lang is illegal,” Liu Jinsong, Deputy Chief of Mission in Embassy of People's Republic of China in New Delhi, said.

“Even the presence of one Indian soldier in Chinese territory is unacceptable and intolerable to us,” Liu said while briefing a select group of journalists on the current India-China military face-off.

Indian Army had initially deployed over nearly 400 soldiers at the scene of the face-off with Chinese PLA personnel. But a note brought out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chinese Government in Beijing on Wednesday said that over 40 Indian soldiers and a bulldozer were illegally staying in the territory of the communist country, as of end of July. Beijing's note indicated that India had substantially brought down the number of soldiers it had initially deployed to stop Chinese PLA personnel to build a road in Doklam Plateau along the disputed China-Bhutan boundary.

Sources in the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi, however, told jounrnalists on Wednesday that India had not brought down its troop strength and maintained it at the same level as it had been in the early days of the face-off in Doklam.

Liu, however, declined to confirm if the Chinese PLA too had brought down the number of soldiers it had deployed in Doklam. “This is a military secret of China. Besides, it does not matter how many troops we have in Dong Lang, as it is our own territory,” he said, reiterating that New Delhi should “immediately and unconditionally” withdraw its troops from the scene of the face-off.

He said that China and Bhutan did not have any dispute over Doklam, only a difference in perception over alignment of the boundary. Referring to the statement released by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bhutanese Government on June 29, he said that it had contained no word to indicate that Thimphu had asked New Delhi to send soldiers to Doklam to stop the Chinese PLA personnel from constructing the road. He went on to say that Bhutanese Government had not even been aware that Indian Army's move.

Bhutan had on June 29 stated that construction of the road in Doklam Plateau by Chinese PLA was a “direct violation” of its agreements with China to maintain peace and tranquillity in their border areas pending a final settlement of the boundary dispute. A day later, India had said that it had sent its soldiers to Doklam “in coordination with” Bhutanese Government.