India, China back off
In a major diplomatic breakthrough and a clear victory, India has managed to tame the Chinese dragon ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s forthcoming visit to China for the Brics summit early next month, with New Delhi on Monday evening confirming pullout by both Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam in Bhutanese territory, bringing an end to the two month-old SinoIndian military standoff there.
In what is a vindication of the Modi government’s resolve to draw red lines for China despite tremendous pressure from Beijing over the past nine weeks, India said there was “ongoing expeditious disengagement of border personnel of India and China at the face-off site at Doklam” which “has since been almost completed under verification”.
In a major diplomatic breakthrough and a clear victory, India has managed to tame the Chinese dragon ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s forthcoming visit to China for the Brics summit early next month, with New Delhi on Monday evening confirming pullout by both Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam in Bhutanese territory, bringing an end to the two month-old SinoIndian military standoff there.
In what is a vindication of the Modi government’s resolve to draw red lines for China despite tremendous pressure from Beijing over the past nine weeks, India said there was “ongoing expeditious disengagement of border personnel of India and China at the face-off site at Doklam” which “has since been almost completed under verification”.
New Delhi said this followed “diplomatic communications” between the two nations, following which an agreement was hammered out.
Speculation is also rife that an informal understanding may have been reached wherein China will not construct the road which had triggered the standoff in the first place in view of the “serious security implications for India”.
There were some reports that the Chinese may have pulled back their bulldozers and earth-moving equipment as well.
According to agency reports from Beijing, China was also silent on its plans to build a road and said it would “make adjustments” with the situation on the ground. However, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying sought to highlight the withdrawal of Indian troops to dispel the impression of a climbdown by Beijing, saying the “Chinese side will continue to exercise its sovereignty, uphold territorial integrity in accordance with the historical conventions”.