Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday made an aerial survey of the Doklam-Nathula stretch and reviewed the situation along the India-China border. The review comes in the face of reports of significant Chinese presence not very far from the Doklam standoff point.
Army sources said Ms. Sitharaman, accompanied by the Vice-Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Sarath Chand, reviewed the operational situation during her first visit to the area as the Defence Minister.
The visit comes just a couple of days ahead of a week-long biannual Army Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi, where the dominant subject would be recent developments along the China border and the situation within Kashmir and along the Pakistan border.
High alert
Both India and China have been maintaining a higher number of troops than normal near the tri-junction with Bhutan. The two countries are on a higher state of alert ever since the Doklam standoff.
The Defence Minister was briefed on the situation at the Gangtok-based 17 Mountain Division, which has four brigades and is responsible for the security at the tri-junction.
She will interact with the Army Commanders when they assemble for the conference.
India and China had been engaged in a two-month standoff in Doklam from mid-June to August 28. While the troops disengaged, China continues to have a sizeable presence a few hundred metres away, with stores and new bunkers. Sources have spoken about China carrying out the overlay of a road leading towards the Doklam area, but within their territory.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inside the cockpit of MiG 29 fighter aircraft on her visit to Air Force Station Jamnagar, in Gujarat on October 6, 2017.
‘Status quo prevails’
The External Affairs Ministry on Friday dismissed media reports about the Chinese presence.
“The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect,” it said.
Army sources said if the Chinese did not withdraw from the deployment before winter, they would have established a “new normal”, in terms of forward deployment in Doklam. “It is not something that we can accept,” a source said.
In the next few weeks, India and China could engage again in bilateral negotiations for restoring the status quo ante, sources said.
