The 71-day old Doklam stand-off finally seems to have come to an end. On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs announced in a press statement that both India and China on the basis of diplomatic engagements decided to 'disengage'.
"...expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is on-going," said the MEA statement on 'Doklam Disengagement Understanding'.
Even as questions are being raised on the levels and nature of disengagement, highly placed sources have told India Today that the 'disengagement is mutual and simultaneous'.
There was constant diplomatic engagement in the recent past, despite the Chinese war rhetoric, to cool tempers ahead of the BRICS Summit to be held in Xiamen, China in the first week of September where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to have bilateral talks. Both sides wanted a conducive environment for talks which wouldn't have been possible if tensions at the border continued. This also comes at a time when the Chinese President is looking to be re-elected at the 19th party Congress in November.
China Stops Road Construction At Doklam,
Say Sources, Standoff Ends
The standoff began in mid-June after Chinese troops started
Both sides withdraw troops from Doklam plateau, says India
India objected to China building a new road in Doklam
China is removing bulldozers, will continue patrols
China and India have agreed to end a lengthy standoff at the Sikkim border that began in June, with Beijing reportedly abandoning plans to construct a road that had triggered the crisis.
India said both sides are moving to withdraw their
troops from the remote Doklam Plateau,
a region that both China and Bhutan claim. Beijing
said it would continue to patrol the area, but agreed
that given today's developments, it will make
"necessary adjustments and deployments according
to the changes."
The standoff began in mid-June after Chinese troops started building a road on the Doklam plateau. Indian soldiers rushed to stop that, triggering the worst military tension in decades with China. Government sources today told NDTV that Chinese bulldozers have been moved out the flashpoint area.
The breakthrough comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to China in a few weeks for a summit of the BRICS group of nations.
Announcing a breakthrough this morning, India said the truce was reached by diplomatic talks. "On this basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is on-going" said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. In the evening, it said the "disengagement" was near completion for both countries.
China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said "At 1430 or so on August 28, India withdrew its personnel and equipment to the Indian side of the border line."
Indian troops were pulled back after China
agreed to stop the construction of a road
in the disputed territory near the tri-junction. This was the trigger that led to the movement of Indian troops
and heavy duty earth moving vehicles to the contentious area
While stating that the Chinese army's patrols in Doklam will continue,
she said China would make "necessary adjustments and deployments
according to the changes," without elaborating what the adjustments
would be.
The conflict, which was the worst in decades, saw 300 soldiers from each side, confronting each other on the remote Doklam plateau in the Eastern Himalayas.
In June, Indian soldiers crossed the Sikkim border to stop China from constructing a road on the Doklam Plateau. Bhutan has no diplomatic relations with China and asked India to intervene. Delhi also stressed that it had forewarned China that the road would be seen as a serious security concern because of the access it opens up to the narrow sliver of land called the "Chicken's Neck" that links India to its northeastern states.
China retorted that it had every right to build a road in a region that is part of its territory. India ignored repeated baiting and aggressive rhetoric by China to insist it would seek diplomatic channels to resolve the tension. India had also urged that both sides withdraw troops to engage in dialogue; Beijing insisted on the unilateral pulling out of India's soldiers.
Two weeks ago, Chinese and Indian soldiers clashed at the picturesque Pangong Lake in Ladakh in the Western Himalayas. On camera, soldiers were seen hurtling stones at each other. Delhi said the two-hour conflict was triggered by China attempting an incursion onto the Indian side of the lake.
中华人民共和国外交部发言人陆慷2017年7月24日在谈到中印洞朗地区对峙事件
时表示，China wants peace and stability in the China-India border
areas, but make no mistake, that does not mean we will compromise
in any way on the issue of territorial sovereignty.
此次事件责任完全在印方，中方决不会在领土主权问题上做任何妥协。
在当日的例行记者会上，陆慷表示，印度国家安全顾问阿吉特•多瓦尔27日至28
日将访中国，参加金砖峰会之前的五国国家安全顾问会议。由于多瓦尔据信是此
次印军越过边界与解放军对峙的主要谋划者之一，印度媒体对他此行将与北京就
解决边界危机进行谈判并取得成果抱有厚望。
We once again urge India to get a clear picture of the current situation
and withdraw its border troops back to the Indian side of the boundary.
That would be the prerequisite and basis for any meaningful dialogue
