The Dokhlam issue

Why is it in news?

The Dokhlam issue recently triggered a war of words again

Details

• A day after Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said that a few Chinese troops were present in the Doklam plateau to carry out some temporary infrastructure development, the issue has led to a war of words between the Modi government and the Congress.
• Reacting to news reports that suggested that there is a military build-up in the area by the Chinese troops, the Ministry of External Affairs said “the status quo at the face-off site has not been altered and any suggestion to the contrary is inaccurate and mischievous.”
• The new images show concrete posts, seven helipads, new trenches and several dozen armoured vehicles close to the point where the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] troops were locked in a 72-day confrontation last year. There is at least one complete mechanised regiment and a strong possibility of another mechanised regiment under camouflage nets.

The Dokhlam issue

• The 2017 China India border standoff or Doklam standoff refers to the military border standoff between the Indian armed forces and the People’s Liberation Army of China over construction of a road in Doklam, known as Donglang, or DonglangCaochang (meaning Donglang pasture or grazing field), in Chinese.
• On 16 June 2017 Chinese troops with construction vehicles and road-building equipment began extending an existing road southward in Doklam, a territory which is claimed by both China as well as India’s ally Bhutan.
• On 18 June 2017, around 270 Indian troops, with weapons and two bulldozers, entered Doklam to stop the Chinese troops from constructing the road.
• On 28 August, both India and China announced that they had withdrawn all their troops from the face-off site in Doklam

Source

The Hindu