BEIJING, Aug. 2-- China on Wednesday laid out its position on India's incursion into Chinese territory in the Himalayas. China's Position Concerning Indian Border Troops Crossing of the China-India Boundary in the Sikkim Sector was published Wednesday to allow the international community to become better acquainted with the facts of the issue, and to fully explain China's stance on the matter, according to a press statement by the Foreign Ministry's Geng Shuang. India's action "severely violates" China's territorial integrity and poses "grave challenges" to regional peace and stability, said Geng. Over 270 Indian troops crossed the Sikkim sector of the China-India border and obstructed Chinese road works in the Dong Lang area (Doklam) on June 18. As of end of July, over 40 members of the Indian military and one piece of heavy earth-moving equipment remained in Chinese territory. Since the incident, the Chinese side has made serious representations to the Indian side, demanding an immediate withdrawal of Indian troops. The China-India boundary in the Sikkim sector is delimited by the 1890 Convention between Great Britain and China Relating to Sikkim and Tibet, and is recognized by both Chinese and Indian governments. According to the 1890 convention, the area in question is indisputably Chinese territory. Once established, the boundary came under the protection of international law. The unauthorized crossing of such a delimited boundary is a "very serious incident," the document said. |