‘Hope Doklam standoff will be solved amicably’

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday met her Bhutanese counterpart Damcho Dorji, who hoped the standoff between India and China in Doklam sector will be addressed “peacefully and amicably”. Both leaders met during the sidelines of the regional grouping, Bimstec, in Kathmandu.

“Time with a close friend and neighbour. EAM meets with FM of Bhutan Damcho Dorji on sidelines of Bimstec Foreign Ministers’ meet,” ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. The meeting is bound to send a strong signal to China that India will stand by Bhutan come what may. The standoff had begun in mid-June when Chinese troops tried to construct a road in Doklam, which India and Bhutan both regard as the Bhutanese territory. China, however, regards the territory as its own.

During the Foreign Ministers’ meet, Ms Swaraj said, “For India, Bimstec is a natural choice to fulfill our key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ ... Our resolve to impart a fresh dynamism to Bimstec has provided hope and optimism to our people.”

India is now increasingly investing its hopes for regional cooperation in Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) — which does not have Pakistan as a member — instead of Saarc, which has become dysfunctional due to Pakistan’s stonewalling tactics.