The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday said that it was entitled to build infrastructure in Doklam, but refused to comment on the news reports that used satellite pictures to claim that Beijing was building a military complex at the site, The Hindu reported.

“China is exercising its sovereignty in its own territory,” the ministry’s Spokesperson, Lu Kang (pictured above), said. “It is legitimate and justified. Just as China will not make comments about Indian construction of infrastructure on India’s territory, we hope other countries will not make comment on China’s construction of infrastructure on its territory.”

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Donglong, as Doklam is called by the Chinese, “is always under China’s effective jurisdiction”, Lu added. The country is building infrastructure for its troops and the people living in the area, PTI quoted him as saying.

China’s comments come a day after the Ministry of External Affairs dismissed as inaccurate the reports about Chinese military buildup at the site. “The government once again reiterates that the status quo at the face-off site has not been altered,” Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said.