New Delhi: Both the nations have agreed to end a lengthy standoff at the Sikkim border that initiated in June, they said today. Both sides are moving to withdraw their troops from the remote Doklam Plateau, a region that both China and Bhutan claim, India said.
“On this basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is ongoing,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.
China will make “necessary adjustments and deployments according to the changes”. However, Beijing said that it would continue to patrol the area, reports NDTV.
The standoff began in mid-June after Chinese troops started constructing a road on the Doklam plateau. Indian soldiers moved to give it a halt, which triggered the worst military tension in decades with China.
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China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, “At 1430 or so on August 28, India withdrew its personnel and equipment to the Indian side of the border line.”
While stating that the Chinese army’s patrols in Doklam will continue, she said China would make “necessary adjustments and deployments according to the changes,” without elaborating what the adjustments would be.
The news comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to China in a few weeks for BRICS summit. Indian sources said that soldiers have begun withdrawing, but the exercise will not be completed today.
Indian soldiers had in June crossed the Sikkim border to stop China from laying the road on the Doklam Plateau. Bhutan has no diplomatic ties with China and asked India to intervene. Delhi also stressed that it had forewarned China that the road would be seen as a serious security concern.
China replied that it had every right to build a road in a region that is part of its territory.
Chinese media and spokespersons repeatedly warned of military escalation, a possible “countdown to war” and of a repeat of India’s humiliating defeat by China in 1962.