Doklam standoff: China censures Japan for backing India

China on Friday told Japan not to make "random" comments on the Sino-Indian border standoff even if it wants to support New Delhi.

Japan has rallied behind India over the dragging feud at Doklam, with its envoy Kenji Hiramatsu saying that the region is disputed and Tokyo understands why New Delhi got embroiled in it.

"I have seen the Japanese Ambassador in India really wants to support India. I want to remind him not to randomly make comments before clarifying relevant facts," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

She rebutted Hiramatsu who said that Doklam, on the Sikkim section of the India-China border, was disputed and no country should change the status quo by using force.

"In the Donglang (Doklam) area, there is no territorial dispute. And the boundary has been delimited and recognized by the two sides," Hua said.

"And the attempt to change the status quo by trespass in the boundary is of India, not China."

Japan is the first country to openly speak on the crisis and back India.

Hua again asked India to immediately withdraw troops from Doklam, where both sides have been engaged in a stand-off since June.

She said India's unconditional pullback will be the basis for any meaningful dialogue to resolve the crisis, which has plunged ties between two countries to a new low.

Doklam is disputed by Bhutan and China. India says the area belongs to Bhutan and Chinese soldiers entered the area, affecting New Delhi's strategic interests.

In a strategically key move, India has poured in more troops along the entire stretch of its border with China in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the face of heightened rhetoric by Beijing over the Dokalam standoff, senior government officials said on Friday.

The "caution level" among the troops has also been raised, the officials told PTI.

The decision to increase the deployment along the nearly 1,400-km Sino-India border from Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh was taken after carrying out a detailed analysis of the situation and considering China's aggressive posturing against India on Dokalam, the officials said.

"The troop level along the border with China in the Sikkim and Arunachal sectors has been increased," said the officials on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.

The Army's Sukna-based 33 Corps as well as 3 and 4 corps based in Arunachal and Assam are tasked to protect the sensitive Sino-India border in the eastern theatre.

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