The 73-day stalemate ends. Chinese and Indian troops make a verifiable withdrawal from Doklam at the tri – junction of Bhutan- China and India (Sikkim).
China and India have negotiated a solution to a more than two-month-long standoff at Doklam plateau, ending a stalemate that had raised concerns about a potential military conflict..
India’s Foreign Ministry Monday said the two sides had agreed to the “expeditious disengagement of border personnel of India and China at the face-off site.” Beijing also stated more or less the same line but in an apparent bid to save face, remarked, while responding to a question about Chinese troop deployments, that it would make “necessary adjustments said.”
Under the agreement that both sides would affect a verifiable withdraw, and China would cease its road-building. The bulldozers left along with the PLA troops.
The dispute began in mid-June after Indian soldiers halted Chinese efforts to construct a road in an area claimed by China and Bhutan, a close Indian ally.. India doesn’t claim the territory in question, known as the Dolam Plateau, but said defending it was crucial to protecting its own security and the interests of Bhutan. Bhutan had asked China to retreat until the boundary dispute between them was settled.
Beijing had for weeks accused India of “illegal trespassing” and called on Indian soldiers to withdraw.
Neither side would comment on whether Beijing would abandon its road-building project as part of Monday’s deal. China’s Foreign Ministry said border guards would continue to patrol the disputed area.
Monday’s announcement came days before a summit of the Brics countries, scheduled to take place in the Chinese city of Xiamen in early September. That meeting—between the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—was likely to be overshadowed by the border dispute between its two prominent members.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet after weeks of acrimony and charged rhetoric by Chinese media.
Officials and analysts around the world have been watching to see how the two countries resolve the issue. China is also embroiled in potentially destabilizing maritime disputes with other Asian countries.
Jia Xiudong, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said the border standoff has aggravated broader conflict between the two countries over competing spheres of influence and China’s closer ties with Pakistan. “There are multiple conflicts between the two countries,” he said.
In a press conference earlier Monday previewing next month’s Brics summit, Chinese officials played down the border dispute and emphasized trade prospects between China and India.
Zhang Jianping, an official at a research institute under China’s Commerce Ministry, said the summit was an “excellent opportunity” for India and China to work out any differences face-to-face.
India has stayed away from China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, an expansive infrastructure plan that seeks to tie dozens of countries to its global ambitions.