NEW DELHI – Reacting to Indian envoy Gautam Bambawale’s remarks against anyattempt to change the present state of affairs on the plateau, China onMonday said that Doklam a “Chinese territory” and the question of changingthe status quo does not arise.

“Regarding the border issue, China is committed to maintaining peace,stability and tranquillity there and Donglang (Doklam) belongs to China aswe have historical conventions. So China`s activity there is within itssovereign rights. There is no such thing as changing the status quo,”Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

“Last year, thanks to our concerted efforts, our diplomatic efforts andwisdom that we properly resolved this issue. We hope the Indian side couldlearn some lessons from this, stick to historical conventions and work withChina to ensure the peace and stability in the border area as well as agood atmosphere for the development of bilateral ties,” she added.

Talking about the delimitation of the boundary, Hua said, “China`s positionis clear and consistent. The east, middle and western side is yet to beofficially demarcated.

China is committed to resolving the relevant dispute through negotiations,”*IANS* reported.

In an interview to Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, Bambawale hadsaid that any attempt to change the status quo in Doklam would lead toanother stand-off.

The ambassador, however, had added that both the nations were well withintheir rights for an Army build up behind the point of the face-off and thestatus quo in Doklam remained in place.