- A dispute has been going over the Doklam plateau
- The dispute has been settled right before Narendra Modi’s arrival at a BRICS meeting.
- China’s troops continue to remain on alert on their side of the border.
India and China have settled on an “expeditious disengagement” of troops over a border dispute.
The decision emerges right before the start of a summit of the BRICS nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is slated to attend. This may have placed pressure on diplomats from both countries.
India and China’s dispute has been carried out at the Doklam plateau. This is near the borders of India, Bhutan (India’s ally) and China. This has been the most serious and delayed dispute in years.
For the last months, there had been a large level of anxiety after a series of rock throwing and chest bumping fracas broke out between the Chinese and Indian troops. The countries had previously engaged in a bloody border war in 1962.
Behind the scene of the clash, the countries had kept diplomatic talks going.
“In recent weeks, India and China have maintained diplomatic communication in respect of the incident at Doklam,” the Indian ministry said.
On the contrary, Chinese defence ministry confirmed that their troops shall remain on alert.
“We remind the Indian side to learn the lesson from this incident, earnestly respect the historical boundary and the basic principles of international law, meet China half way and jointly protect the peace and tranquillity of the border region,” spokesman Wu Qian said.