After weeks of diplomatic negotiations, India and China agreed to disengage from the standoff on the Doklam plateau, disputed between China and Bhutan, with a formula that saw China promise to make necessary adjustments to their troop deployments, after Indian troops withdrew back to their posts in Sikkim. The process of disengagement by border personnel had been almost completed under verification from both sides indicating that no more troops were expected on the face off point at Doklam, which reverted to status quo. Peace and tranquility in the border areas is an essential pre-requisite for further development of our bilateral relationship and hence the Indo-Chini bhai bhai bilateral agreement. The Indian side has pulled back all its personnel and equipment to the Indian side of the boundary. In the light of the changes of the situation, on the ground, China will make necessary adjustment and deployment. The agreement comes a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China to attend the BRICS summit in September. It also paves the way for a one-on- one meeting between Mr. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 4, and it is hoped that the meeting will be a fruitful one. Doklam standoff ends as India, China step back brushing aside to the differences and make an expected retreat to ease out the tension in the Indo-China border.
Calicut Krishnan
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
