Doklam stand-off: China likely to issue final ultimatum to India ahead of BRICS summit, says Chinese media

State-run Global Times today shot yet another warning on Doklam standoff, saying the Chinese authority may issue a final ultimatum ahead of the BRICS summit scheduled in September and if India doesn't go by the demands it has to face the consequences.

"The ultimatum will clearly tell India and the world that China will give a certain number of days to India to withdraw its troops. After the deadline, if Indian troops still remain within China's territory, India will be responsible for all the consequences," the Global Times quoted retired rear admiral and senior adviser Xu Guangyu to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.

Hinting at the military confrontation, the retired rear admiral said: "If India ignores the ultimatum, as a few dozen military personnel and one bulldozer [in Doklam] is a piece of cake for the Chinese military." Presuming that Indian troops will not back off, in that case, he said, China needs to be fully prepared for military conflict.
 
Ever since the border face-off broke out at tri-junction in Dokalam region, state-guided Global Times has released barrage of attacks on Indian government and its Army saying it has 'trespassed' into the Chinese territory. However, New Delhi maintains that as per 2012 agreement between India and China no party can unilaterally change the status quo at the tri-junction. That is what exactly China wanted to do by constructing a road in the Doklam region.    
 
Earlier in June, New Delhi had made its stand clear and said: "The Indian side has underlined that the two governments had in 2012 reached agreement that the tri-junction boundary points between India, China, and third countries will be finalised in consultation with the concerned countries. Any attempt, therefore to unilaterally determine tri-junction points is in violation of this understanding."
 
Not only India justified its stand on Doklam, it has also asked Chinese authorities to resolve the current stand-off through diplomatic channels. However, in what could be called a clear case of sabre-rattling, the Chinese authority and its mouthpiece Global Times have continued to ask India to withdraw the forces - a pre-condition for talk - from the region first.
 
"Even when India withdraws its troops from the Doklam Plateau, China will not let the matter drop, because withdrawal is just the precondition, not the solution," the Global Times quoted Director of the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Ye Hailin as saying. He further said that China would still make India pay for its offensive and provocative behavior even if India withdraws its troops as China requests.
 
Speaking on China's military strength, the newspaper writes that the quality of Chinese weapons and military personnel is overwhelmingly better than India's.

Chinese military expert Song Zhongping outlined China's capability in air and said: "In the air, China's J-10C and J-11 fighter jets, H-6K bombers, Z-10 attack helicopters and other types of transport helicopters, no matter the quality or quantity, are all better than India's. China's long-range rocket artillery is not only better than India's, but is the best in the world."
 
The newspaper also claimed that China has huge advantage in Tibet region. It quoted retired rear admiral Xu who said: "India might think that the Chinese air force doesn't have enough air bases in the Tibet Autonomous Region, but they are seriously mistaken. According to open information, China has at least five large airports in Tibet, and the furthest one from Doklam is only 1,000 kilometers away. The combat radius of J-10C and J-11 planes is more than 1,200 kilometers, so the Indian military had better abandon their illusions." In Tibet, civilian airports can also be used for military aircraft, it further said.