Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said the People’s Liberation Army has the capability to defeat all “invading enemies”, state news agency Xinhua reported. Xi’s comments come amid the month-long standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies at Doklam area in Sikkim sector.

The Chinese president made the comments while addressing a military parade to mark the PLA’s 90th anniversary in Inner Mongolia. “I firmly believe that our gallant military has both confidence and ability to defeat all invading enemies,” Xi said, according to IANS.

Xi inspected the parade in which formations of conventional missiles and nuclear missiles were displayed. “The world is not all at peace, and peace must be safeguarded,” Xi, who is also the chairperson of the Central Military Commission, added.

The Sikkim standoff

India and China are currently locked in a diplomatic standoff in the Sikkim sector. Both nations have maintained that troops from the other country had transgressed into their territory in the Doklam area.

Bilateral ties have been strained since the Indian Army stopped China from constructing a road in the region. New Delhi has made it clear that it will not allow China to construct a motorable road up to the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction through the Doklam plateau.