India and China have agreed to “expeditious disengagement” at Doklam, thereby ending a military stand-off that has lasted more than two months, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday. The diplomatic success comes — despite much talk of escalation — five days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China to attend the five-nation BRICS summit.
The stand-off started in mid-June when Chinese troops entered Bhutanese territory to build a road, sparking India’s intervention, citing agreements to maintain a status quo in the region. India had deployed about 350 Army personnel in the area.
Government sources, however, told DNA that they will continue with the enhanced troop deployment on the Indian side even after withdrawing from Bhutanese territory.
“In view of recent incursions, a high operational alert will continue and India will also closely watch road construction in Doklam,” they said.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the disengagement of troops has been completed under verification. He said India has always maintained that it was only through diplomatic channels that differences on such matters can be addressed. He said India’s position remained guided by the belief that peace and tranquillity in border areas is a pre-requisite for further development of bilateral relations. The two countries had in June, at the Kazakhstan capital of Astana, agreed that India-China relations must remain stable.
China claimed in a statement that Indian troops have indeed pulled back, but remained ambiguous about the status of its own troops.
India insisted that expeditious disengagement implies withdrawal of both parties. “In recent weeks, India and China have maintained diplomatic communication in respect of the incident at Doklam. During these communications, we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests. On this basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site in Dokalam has been agreed to and is on-going,” the MEA said.
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