Doka La border standoff: China was very shrill in its media comments, says Sunil Lamba

New Delhi: China was “very shrill” in its media comments on Doka La standoff but India kept quiet and that has worked, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lamba said on Tuesday. The navy chief was responding to a question from the press on the sidelines of a day-long session on ‘social media and the Armed Forces’. [caption id=“attachment_3987587” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Navy Chief Sunil Lamba. PTI[/caption] “They have been very shrill in their comments. We have used it in a different way, where we have kept quiet. And, that has worked for us,” he said when asked about China’s media campaign on Doka La issue. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had on Monday said that both the countries have agreed to an “expeditious disengagement” at the faceoff site in Doka La following diplomatic communications. The development came a week before the BRICS summit in China which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, however, sought to highlight the withdrawal of Indian troops to dispel the impression of a climbdown by China. The official, while stonewalling questions about India’s announcement of the disengagement of troops, claimed its soldiers continued to patrol the area. Lamba, when asked about the current situation, only said that the MEA has given the statement and “I have nothing more to add to that”. Senior officials from the three Armed Forces attended the session which was inaugurated by the navy chief. Experts from social media giants Facebook and Twitter and software bellwether IBM also delivered talks on harnessing the power of social media and using it for constructive engagement.