India's stand in its border dispute with China is supported by other countries, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said Thursday as she praised tiny Bhutan for standing up to China in the row.

Swaraj reaffirmed that India's security could be jeopardised if China takes over the zone where the frontiers of India, China and Bhutan meet.

The standoff started more than a month ago after Chinese troops started building a road on the remote plateau, which is disputed by China and Bhutan.

Indian troops moved in to the flashpoint zone to halt the work.

"All the countries are understanding that India's stand is not wrong. Justice is on our side, this is being accepted by all other countries," the minister told the upper house of the Indian parliament.

China has also declared that it has international support, with its foreign ministry saying on Tuesday that foreign diplomats were "shocked" by India's "illegal trespass".

Swaraj praised Bhutan, one of the world's smallest countries, for taking an "aggressive" stand and not bowing to its giant neighbour.

Bhutan has said construction of the road is "a direct violation" of agreements with China. Bhutan and China do not have diplomatic relations.

India, which fought a war with China in 1962 over a separate part of the disputed Himalayan border, supports Bhutan's claim.

"There is a written agreement signed in 2012 which states that the issue of trijunction (the border where the three countries meet) should be decided by India, China and ... Bhutan," Swaraj said.

"All this while China has been building roads... various activities have been going on. This time they brought bulldozers and excavators and their intention is to reach the trijunction.

"They want to end the status quo of this trijunction unilaterally," she added.

China has said Indian troops should "unconditionally" withdraw to the Indian side before talks can start on the dispute.

Swaraj said China must also pull back its troops for any dialogue to happen.

India and China have vied for influence in South Asia, with Beijing ploughing large sums into infrastructure projects in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Bhutan has remained closely allied to India.

Tweet

On third MH17 anniversary, families unveil 'living memorial'
Vijfhuizen, Netherlands (AFP) July 17, 2017
Three years after Flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over war-torn Ukraine, nearly 2,000 relatives gathered Monday to unveil a "living memorial" to their loved ones. A total of 298 trees have been planted in the shape of a green ribbon, one for each of the victims who died on board the Malaysia Airlines flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Q ... read more

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only