The Chinese Embassy on Thursday described India's claim of Doklam region belonging to Bhutan as "groundless" and said that for any meaningful dialogue Indian troops must pull back from the area "unconditionally and immediately". Li Ya, Political Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy, in a video message said, "On June 18, Indian border troops crossed the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary triggering a close range face-off."

He said the Sikkim sector is "delimited" by the 1890 Sino-Britain convention relating to Tibet and Sikkim. "In essence, China's territorial sovereignty has been undermined by the Indian border troops," the Chinese official said, repeating the accusations levelled by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing.