Singapore: India and China should approach each other with “strategic maturity”, foreign secretary S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday while expressing confidence that the two countries will be able to handle the Sikkim standoff as they have dealt with such border differences in the past.

“It is a long border, as you know no part of the border has been agreed upon on the ground. It is likely that from time to time there are differences,” Mr Jaishankar said while responding to questions on the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector after delivering a lecture on “India, Asean and Changing Geopolitics”.

Underlining that this was not the first time that China and India have had border differences, Mr Jaishankar said, “When such situations arise, I see no reason, when having handled so many situations in the past, we would not be able to handle it.”

“This is not to suggest that old problems have been all addressed or that new issues will not arise. India has an alarming trade deficit that in our view emanates from obstacles to market access in China,” Mr Jaishankar said.