China again calls for restraint amid tensions between India and Pakistan

China on Wednesday again asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint as the tensions between the two neighbours escalated. Beijing urged both India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue to uphold the peace and stability in the region.

“I understand that in the latest development Pakistan says it had shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilots”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Lu Kang, said at a press briefing in Beijing,

Lu said the international community is following the developments closely.

“China’s position is clear. As two important countries in south Asia we hope that the two countries can exercise restraint and engage in dialogue and take actions for the peace and stability in the region”, he said.

Lu’s statement came soon after foreign minister Wang Yi also urged New Delhi and Islamabad to be restrained.

“We are concerned about the current tension in South Asia. As a mutual friend of India and Pakistan, China hopes that both sides will exercise restraint and avoid escalation,” Wang said, referring to the strike carried out by Indian Air Force (IAF) in Balakot across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan.

“It is expected that the two sides will find out the truth of the incident through dialogue and jointly safeguard regional peace,” Wang told India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who is attending the foreign ministers meeting of RIC (Russia-India-China) in Wuzhen, China.

First Published: Feb 27, 2019 17:20 IST