More than two months after the standoff at the Doklam plateau on the Sikkim border between Indian troops and Chinese troops began, a diplomatic agreement has been reached and both forces will be disengaging from the site of conflict. The breakthrough between the two nations was achieved through diplomatic talks. The agreement comes ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit to China for the BRICS summit next month.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs said, "In recent weeks, India and China maintained diplomatic communication in respect of 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 at Doklam has been agreed to and is on-going."
Indian Army's tough stand in the standoff also helped in putting pressure on China which was made to understand that India will not back off so easily without its demands being accepted. The Chinese have now agreed to completely withdraw their troops from the area.
This is being termed as major victory of Modi's national security team including both civilian and military diplomacy. The 9th annual BRICS summit, that brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will take place in China's Xiamen on September 3-5.
Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry has said Indian troops had withdrawn to the Indian side. Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Chinese troops would continue to patrol the disputed Doklam region.
The Doklam stand-off emerged in June 2017 after Indian troops stopped China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) from constructing a road on the Doklam plateau, which ís a part of Bhutan. India said that constructing a road on the plateau will pose serious security concerns as it gives China access to the "Chicken's Neck" - a narrow strip of land that links India to the seven northeast states.
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