India coordinating with Bhutan on stand-off with China: Govt

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New Delhi: India on Thursday said it continues to engage with China diplomatically and has been coordinating with Bhutan to find a mutually-acceptable solution to a standoff between the two nations in the Dokalam area in the Sikkim sector.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay today said, "We continue to engage with China through diplomatic channels to find a mutually acceptable solution."

Asked about China's claim of India reducing its troops from 400 to 40 in Dokalam, Baglay refused to give a direct reply calling it an 'operational matter'.

"Our objective is to achieve peace and tranquillity and it will be achieved through diplomacy," he said.

He further added that India has been in continuous coordination and consultation with Bhutan on the Dokalam issue. 

Upset over China stalling the move to list JeM's Masood Azhar a global terrorist by the UN, Baglay expressed his hopes that countries sharing its concerns over international terrorism would cooperate in fighting all forms of terror.

"We can only hope that all these countries which share our concerns regarding the menace of international terrorism will cooperate in fighting all forms of terrorism," he said.

He was replying to a question on China once again extending by three months its technical hold on the US, France and UK-backed proposal to designate Azhar a global terrorist by the UN.

China had in February this year blocked the US move to include the Pathankot terror attack mastermind in the list of global terrorists.

The deadline for China to take action on its technical hold was till August 2.