India 'misleading public opinion', says Foreign Ministry

Indian troops trespassing on Chinese territory have nothing to do with the trijunction of the borders between China, India and Bhutan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Friday, adding that India is "misleading public opinion" by introducing this aspect into the incident.

The trespass took place in the Sikkim section of the China-Indian border, which is more than 2,000 meters away from the trijunction. The section was demarcated by the Convention Between Great Britain and China Relating to Sikkim and Tibet in 1890.

"It is obviously with ulterior motives that the Indian side ignores the border convention and said the trijunction lies in the whole area of Doklam," Geng said.

Responding to a reporter's comment that the convention was without meaning after the war between China and India at the border in 1962, the spokesman reiterated that the Indian government has clearly acknowledged the validity of the convention on many occasions.

"The legitimacy and validity of the convention, once signed, will not be affected by the change of government or state system," Geng said.