China on Tuesday did not challenge remarks by the Chief of Army Staff, Bipin Rawat that Beijing had thinned down its troops in the Doklam area.
Instead of referring to its troop deployments, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the “Dong Lang (Doklam) area has all along been part of China and under China’s continuous and effective jurisdiction. There is no dispute in this regard.”
It added: “The Chinese border troops’ patrolling and stationing in the Dong Lang area is exercising sovereignty rights in accordance with the stipulations of historical conventions and upholding territorial sovereignty.”
In response to questions, Gen. Rawat on Monday said that China had withdrawn a large part of its troops deployed near Doklam tri-junction in Chumbi valley. “There is major reduction in the Chinese troop strength,” Gen. Rawat said on the sidelines of an Army-industry seminar on indigenisation.
