BEIJING – Accusing India of making provocative remarks, Chinese observerswarned of another Doklam-like standoff showdown soon. The statement comesdays after former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said thatChina’s political goal was to split India and Bhutan over the Doklamstandoff.

“Indian officials’ recent provocative remarks, as well as a surreptitiousvisit to controversial border regions, are likely to plunge their countryinto another showdown with China like last year’s Doklam standoff, Chineseobservers warned on Thursday,” said a report in state-run Chinese tabloid -The Global Times.

The article claims, “India has been sending provocative signals to Chinasince the Doklam standoff of summer 2017, which makes the already souredSino-Indian relationship more fragile.”

Earlier this month, China opposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit toArunachal Pradesh, which it claims is “a part of South Tibet.”

“The Chinese government has never recognised the so-called ArunachalPradesh and is firmly opposed to the Indian leader’s visit to the disputedarea,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang was quoted assaying by state-run Xinhua news agency in response to PM Modi’s visit toArunachal Pradesh on Thursday.

In the latest write-up, Beijing accuses India of “deliberate provocation”.

“There is a strong possibility of conflict between China and India breakingout again this year, as India persists in pushing the bilateralrelationship in a negative direction, and both sides are enhancing theirpreparations for a possible ramped up confrontation in the border region.

This includes building roads and reinforcing troop numbers,” Hu Zhiyong, aresearch fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the ShanghaiAcademy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.