Confusion over the real situation in Doklam, the disputed Bhutanese area where Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a standoff for the past 70 days, persists. India came up with a statement Monday, hinting at a positive turnaround in the tension there.
While external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar stated “expeditious disengagement of border personnel in Doklam has been agreed to and is ongoing” after talks at the diplomatic level in recent weeks, China took the stand that “India withdrew its troops” from Doklam. It made no mention of any troop withdrawal from its side. Instead, it said tersely that China’s “sovereignty over the land continues”.
The 70-day standoff between the neighbours, sparked by China’s attempts to lay a road through Bhutanese territory close to the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction, has seen both countries engage in heated exchange of words and hostile action along the border.
India has reason to fear, as the road through the Doklam plateau were to be laid, would give China the upper hand in terms of military strategy. China could then easily overpower India and choke the narrow Siliguri Corridor, or Chicken’s Neck, which keeps the Indian mainland connected with the Northeast.
With China giving the impression that it would not budge an inch, the statement from the Indian external affairs ministry looks tricky. It is still early days for anyone to say whether the crisis is past for good. Fact is that China has always maintained a position of dominance over India and border incursions such as the recent one at Ladakh are nothing new.
The statements issued by Chinese officials, such as its foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, also do not indicate troop withdrawal by China. Chunying said she was “pleased to confirm” that “trespassing Indian personnel” had pulled back to the Indian side of the boundary and that (Chinese) patrolling will continue.
There is, therefore, plenty of room for doubt in the statement issued by the ministry of external affairs, particularly against the backdrop of the upcoming BRICS group of nations summit at Xiamen and the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi will be visiting China to attend the meet.
Questions arose whether the external affairs ministry is preparing the ground for a face-saving exercise for the PM’s visit to China at a juncture when tension between the two nations remained high over Doklam. China has been giving great importance to BRICS grouping as it provides the nation a strong economic standing in the region.
And China probably does not want the summit to be marred by the Doklam standoff, particularly as it has themed the event “Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future”. China would be seen as a violator of international laws in the light of the Doklam standoff and the current movement on the issue may only be window dressing to cover up the actual situation.
The fact that China was also facing heat from the US, Japan and other countries over North Korea, may be acting in India’s favour, if at all there is a thaw in the frosty relations, as stated by India.
If India has withdrawn its troops as both the Indian and Chinese statements seem to indicate, the fact on the ground could be that India has capitulated to Chinese pressure. It could also be that the Modi government, with great pressure from courts in the past week — from Privacy issue to Baba Ram Rahim’s conviction — feels the need to give something else to the media and people to talk about. This could be a diversionary technique to show some level of diplomatic victory in the China situation.
Alternatively, if both sides are indeed withdrawing troops in accordance with the said agreement, it is still not reason enough for India to drop its guard.
China back-stabbed India at the nearest opportunity it got by waging a war and annexing large swathes of Indian land in 1962. Nothing goes to show China can be a trustworthy neighbour. Utmost caution is advised in India’s dealings with China.