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Doklam is in our area, says China
Context
Doklam issue
What has happened?
Chinese military has hinted at maintaining sizeable presence of its troops near the area of Doklam standoff during winter, asserting that the region is in Chinese territory
Backdrop
India and China resolved the 73-day tense standoff on August 28 at Doklam after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stopped building a strategic road close to India’s narrow Chicken Neck area connecting north-eastern States
- India objected to the road building by the PLA, saying that it endangered the security of the narrow corridor
- Bhutan also claims the Doklam area to be its part
- According to official accounts, both China and India in the past used to withdraw troops from the advanced regions of that area during the winter which is harsh
Doklam standoff
Where is it?
Doklam is a tri-junction between India, China, and Bhutan, where the road construction activities of China were strongly objected by the Indian armed forces. As per the mutual understanding of India and Bhutan, both the nations consider this area as a Bhutanese territory. But China claims that the tri junction between the three nations should be on the south side of the plateaus.
Doklam& the tri-junction
Bhutan’s stand
Bhutan’s Foreign Ministry called it a “direct violation” of agreements reached in 1988 and 1998 to maintain peace and refrain from unilateral action in the area pending a final border settlement
Chinese claim
China claimed that India’s border guards, in responding to Bhutan’s call for help, had “illegally trespassed the boundary into Chinese territory” when they confronted the Chinese army construction team
Strategic importance of Doklam for India
For India, securing the Doklam Plateau is seen as essential to maintaining its control over a land corridor that connects to its remote northeastern States.
- India has said the Chinese road project threatens its access to the corridor, while China has questioned why India should even have a say in a matter that concerns only Beijing and Bhutan
India-China disputed borders
Background
- China has been frustrated with India’s refusal to sign onto a massive effort to build railways, ports and roads reaching from Asia to Europe and the Middle East. The project includes a China-Pakistan economic development programme aimed at absorbing as much as $46 billion in investment, most of it from Chinese banks
- China also has complained bitterly for decades over India’s accepting the Dalai Lama as a refugee in 1959. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader has kept his headquarters in northern India since fleeing Chinese-ruled Tibet.
Here is a timeline of events chronicling how the situation unfolded:
June 16 – The Indian Army intercepts and stalls road-laying efforts by the Chinese in the Doka La area of the Doklam plateau, leading to a standoff between units of the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army of China. There is dispute over the plateau, which is just north of the tri-junction of Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet
June 20 – The Bhutanese envoy in New Delhi registers protest against Chinese intervention into its territory
June 23 – China refuses entry to pilgrims visiting Kailash Mansarovar — a site considered holy by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains — citing damage to roads due to rains in Tibet
June 28 – The Chief of the Army Staff, BipinRawat, visits Sikkim to take stock of the situation
June 29 – China tests a 35-tonne military tank in Tibet, near the Indian border
July 6 – China calls off a meeting between Premier Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 meet, saying the “atmosphere was not right.”
July 18 – Chinese foreign ministry asks India to immediately withdraw its troops to avoid any escalation of the situation. India should not use “trespass” into the Doklam area in the Sikkim sector as a “policy tool” to achieve its “political targets”, said Chinese officials
July 22 – India and China should engage in direct dialogue free of any “coercive aspects” to reduce the tension over a military standoff in Doklam, the Pentagon says
July 27 – The Air Force station at Panagarh in Bardhaman district gets its first set of multi-skilled transport aircraft C-130J Super Hercules manufactured by Lockheed Martin of the United States. Officials say the deployment at the strategically important air base has nothing to do with the Doklam standoff. National Security Adviser AjitDoval holds talks with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jichei, covering “bilateral issues and major problems.”
July 31 – Chinese border guards enter one kilometre into Indian territory and threaten shepherds grazing cattle in the Barahoti area of Uttarakhand’sChamoli district.
August 3 – India must withdraw its troops on the Doklam plateau or face ”serious consequences”, says a senior Chinese diplomat in New Delhi. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tells the Rajya Sabha that “war was not a solution,” referring to the stand-off with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army at Doklam, adding that “wisdom was to resolve issues diplomatically.”
August 4 – China says it has shown “utmost goodwill” over the prolonged military standoff with India in the Sikkim sector but warned that its “restraint” has a “bottom line“.
August 9 – Defence Minister ArunJaitley tells the Rajya Sabha that the armed forces were strong enough to meet any challenge to the country’s security, underlining that lessons had been learnt from the 1962 war. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama describes India and China as close neighbours but cautioned against “harsh words.”
August 17 – State-run media house Xinhua releases a video in English, entitled “The Seven Sins of India”, which accuses India of “trampling international law” and “confusing right and wrong” over the Doklam crisis. A video surfaces of the August 15 skirmish between Indian and Chinese troops by the Pangonglake in Ladakh. However, shots were not fired, and the brawl was restricted to fisticuffs and stone-throwing
August 18 – Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu makes comments supporting India’s position on Doklam. Japan and China are locked in a stalemate over eight uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. China is also involved in territorial disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea
August 25 – China agrees to tackle trade imbalance. Beijing says it does not want Doklam stand-off to hurt trade and promises to send a delegation to India by December to help build trade ties
August 28 – India and China mutually agree to de-escalate tensions in the Doklam plateau, bringing putative closure to the dispute that created fears of outright armed conflict between the two nuclear weapon states
