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- Bhutan’s Prime Minister has said that China should maintain status quo in the Doklam region.He said that as long as the status quo was maintained there will be peace and tranquillity in the region.
- This statement came in the backdrop of China building up of military infrastructure on the Chinese side of the Doklam plateau that has been part of a boundary dispute between Bhutan and China.
- He also said that the boundary talks between China and Bhutan had made good progress with 25 rounds completed.However,he reiterated Bhutan’s policy of not establishing ties with any permanent member of the UN Security Council.
- Doklam is an 89 sq.km patch of territory in Chumbi Valley between Sikkim and Bhutan which is claimed by China.It’s called the Donglang region by China,Bhutan calls it Doklam Plateau and India refers to it as Doka La.
- In 2017,Indian had objected a road construction by China in the Doklam plateau.In this context,Bhutan had formally launched a diplomatic protest complaint against China and also stated that its sovereign territory is being violated.Further,this was seen by India as a threat for its own borders and an assault on Bhutan
- However,India and China mutually agreed to de-escalate tensions in the Doklam plateau bringing closure to the dispute that created fears of outright armed conflict between the two nuclear weapon states.
- This region holds immense strategic importance for India and China. Lying east of Sikkim,it has a commanding view of the Chumbi valley and overlooks the narrow Siliguri Corridor that links the North-East to the rest of India.
