New Delhi: India and China have agreed to speedy disengagement on the Doklam plateau in Bhutan, ending a military standing lasting almost three months.
“In recent weeks, India and China have maintained diplomatic communication in respect of the incident at Doklam. During these communications, we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests,” a statement from the Indian foreign ministry on Monday said. “On this basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is ongoing,” the statement said.
Here’s a timeline to the Doklam standoff between India and China that started on 16 June:
16 June: Chinese troops enter Doklam plateau in Bhutan to build a road. Bhutan protests; Indian and Chinese troops in a military standoff.
20 June: Bhutan, through its embassy in New Delhi, formally protests the Chinese road construction in Doklam plateau.
30 June: Defence minister Arun Jaitley says India of 2017 different from 1962, when it fought a brief war with China. India’s foreign ministry says the Chinese road construction has security implications for India.
4 July: China’s Ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, says “the ball is in India’s court” on the Doklam standoff.
5 July: India will suffer greater losses than in 1962 if it incites a military conflict, says China’s Global Times in a report.
12 July: China’s People’s Daily invokes provocative 22 September 1962 editorial that warned India over “territorial provocations”.
17 July: China’s military conducts live-fire exercises in Tibet.
21 July: India calls for simultaneous troop withdrawal by the two sides.
30 July: Chinese President Xi Jinping says People’s Liberation Army has the confidence to defeat “all invading armies and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests”.
2 August: India says it considers peace and tranquillity in India-China border areas a prerequisite for smooth development of bilateral ties with China.
3 August: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tells parliament patience is key to resolving the Doklam standoff.
15 August: Indian, Chinese soldiers in a scuffle at Pangong Tso in Ladakh after Indian troops foil a Chinese incursion attempt.
28 August: India says both countries have agreed to “expeditious disengagement” at Doklam.
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