India will continue to engage with China on border standoff , says Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: Noting that the Chinese action in Doklam is of concern, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday that India will continue to engage with China diplomatically to resolve the border standoff and that war is not a solution.

"We will continue to engage with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels to find a mutually acceptable solution on the basis of the Astana consensus between our leaders. I note the sense of the House is supportive," the Minister said, recalling that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed during their recent meeting in the Kazakhstan capital that differences should not be allowed to be converted into disputes.

In this regard, she said, in keeping with the unique and traditional friendship with Bhutan "we will also continue to maintain close consultation and coordination with the Royal Government of Bhutan".She said that Chinese investment in India has touched $160 billion, and "we are talking of bilateral relations with China and not only Doklam". She said that in India's growing economic capabilities, "there is a big investment from China".Reading out from a prepared text, the Minister said, "Our relations with China have recently come under renewed focus due to developments in the Doklam area in the Sikkim sector close to the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction boundary."

She said India's position has been articulated in the statement issued by her Ministry on June 30. "Our concerns emanate from Chinese action on the ground which have implications for determination of the tri-junction boundary point between India, China and Bhutan and the alignment of the India-China boundary in the Sikkim sector. Both these aspects of tri-junction point and India-China boundary alignment in the Sikkim sector have been earlier addressed in a common understanding reached between Special Representatives of India and China on the boundary question in December 2010."

She said point 13 of the common understanding states that the tri-junction boundary points between India, China and third countries will be finalised in consultation with the concerned countries. "Since 2012, we have not held any discussion on the tri-junction with Bhutan.""The Chinese action in Doklam area is therefore of concern. With regard to the boundary in Sikkim sector, there are still steps to be covered before the boundaries are finalised," she said.

This understanding, the Minister said, has been reflected in the common understanding of December 2012 in point number 12 which states that there is mutual agreement on the basis of alignment of India-China boundary in the Sikkim sector as provided by the convention between China and Great Britain relating to Tibet and Sikkim in 1890.

Rejecting opposition members charge that the government has done nothing to extend hand of friendship to Pakistan, Sushma Swaraj recalled the steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including his invitation to all neighbours for his swearing-in during which in bilateral talks it was decided that Foreign Secretary level talks will begin.

She also recalled Modi's impromptu visit to Lahore for greeting then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his birthday but said dialogue cannot be a one-way track."Terror and talks cannot go together. The day Pakistan puts an end to terror, talks will begin," she said, adding that the bilateral ties suffered a setback the day Sharif hailed slain Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani as a freedom fighter.

On apprehensions that ties with Muslim-majority nations in West Asia could deteriorate once the Modi government came to power, she said if there was one country with which that region has the