Back off or Beijing will readjust its stance on Sikkim: Chinese daily

China also "strongly" urged India to pull back from Doka La to avoid the situation from getting worse and lead to "some more serious consequences." File pic for representation

Ratcheting up its rhetoric against India, a state-run Chinese daily yesterday warned that Beijing may support "pro-independence appeals in Sikkim," if New Delhi does not stop pursuing "regional hegemony" through the border face-off.

"In the past, China was wary of India playing the Dalai Lama card, but this card is already overplayed and will exert no additional effect on the Tibet question. But if Beijing adjusts its stance on India-sensitive issues, it could be a powerful card to deal with New Delhi," state-run Global Times said.

The paper, known for its aggressive rhetoric, said that China should reconsider its stance over Sikkim. "Although China recognised India's annexation of Sikkim in 2003, it can readjust its stance on the matter," the daily said.

"There are those in Sikkim that cherish its history as a separate state, and they are sensitive to how the outside world views the Sikkim issue. As long as there are voices in Chinese society supporting Sikkim's independence, the voices will spread and fuel pro-independence appeals in Sikkim," it added.

The tabloid daily of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) also accused India of exerting "startling control and oppression over Bhutan."

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"As a result, Bhutan has not established diplomatic ties with China or any other permanent member of the UN Security Council. Through unequal treaties, India has severely jeopardised Bhutan's diplomatic sovereignty and controls its national defence," it said.

It also accused India of imposing a "similar coercive policy on Sikkim before".

Xi-Modi won't meet
The "atmosphere" is "not right" for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, a Chinese official said yesterday amidst a standoff between the armies of the two countries in the Sikkim section.

China also "strongly" urged India to pull back to avoid the situation from getting worse and lead to "some more serious consequences."

While India said that Modi will hold meetings with leaders of countries like Canada, Japan, and the UK on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, there was no mention of any scheduled bilateral meeting with Xi.