China Border Dispute With India Ends With Agreement: Press

     BEIJING (MNI) - China said Monday that Indian troops had withdrawn from the

Doklam border region in the Himalayas, ending for now the dispute between the

two countries over territorial claims.

     China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press conference

that India had removed its "trespassing troops" from the region and that China

would "continue to exercise its sovereignty and uphold its territorial integrity

in accordance with historical conventions," the state-run Global Times reported.

     "The Chinese government highly values its friendly relationship with

India," Hua was quoted as saying. "We hope India can fulfill the historic

agreement on the border and safeguard the stability of the border area with

China," Hua said.

     India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the

"expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the faceoff site at Doklam has

been agreed to and is ongoing," The Economic Times of India reported. 

     The standoff began more than two months ago when India tried to prevent the

Chinese from building a road in the region, which also borders Bhutan. India

viewed construction of the road as an incursion into strategic territory, and

responded by starting to build a road in another border region, Ladakh. China

subsequently held live-fire military drills in the Doklam region.

     India's Ministry of External Affairs said both sides had exchanged views on

the subject, and would maintain communications.

     The resolution of the dispute came ahead of a summit meeting of BRICS

nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- that starts on

Sunday in Xiamen, China. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet with

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: vince.morkri@marketnews.com

--MNI BEIJING Bureau; +1 202-371-2121; email: john.carter@mni-news.com

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