The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday sided with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley even as he brushed aside China's warning which had asked India to ?learn? from the 1962 war and said the former?s statement was ?self-explanatory? as India is now capable of having all self defence.

Arun Jaitley said, ?India of 2017 is different from India of 1962. Those were different situations?

?Whatever our Defence Minister has said it is self-explanatory. It clearly indicates that India is now capable of having all ammunition,? BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi told ANI.

A day after China warned India over the ongoing border face-off with an oblique reference of the 1962 war that ended in an Indian defeat, defence minister Arun Jaitley retorted on Friday that the India of 2017 is not what it was 55 years ago.

"If they are trying to remind us, the situation in 1962 was different, the India of today is different," said Jaitley at an event here on Friday, adding that it was "absolutely wrong" for China to try to claim a slice of Bhutanese land in violation of all agreements.

Jaitley further said that Bhutan has appropriately pointed out that China was trying to usurp its land. India is not entering into any other country's land what China is doing, Jaitley said.

Earlier, Bhutan issued a demarche to China yesterday over the construction of a road towards its Army camp in Zomplri area of Doklam and asked Beijing to restore status quo by stopping the work immediately.

On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry of Bhutan issued a statement underlining that the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements between Bhutan and China and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between these two countries. They urged a return to the status quo as before June 16.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.) </s> While doing so, it also referred to the 1962 war that was fought between the two countries more than five decades ago wherein China captured a substantial chunk of territory in three sectors. India received support from the erstwhile Soviet Union as well as the US against China at that time.

“The situation in 1962 was different and India of 2017 is different. Bhutan government had issued a statement yesterday in which it made it clear that the land in question belonged to Bhutan. It is located near India's land. There is an arrangement between India and Bhutan for giving security,” PTI quoted Jaitley as saying.

Indian media reports maintain that China’s attempts to build a road in the strategically key Donglang area started the latest round of skirmishes. The area is strategically located at the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction and could give China a major military advantage over India.

The Indian Army had reportedly blocked the construction of a road by China in Donglang, a disputed territory between China and Bhutan.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release on Friday that it was “deeply concerned at the recent Chinese actions and has conveyed to the Chinese government that such construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India”. </s> NEW DELHI: The India-China military stand-off seems set for a long haul with China responding to defence minister Arun Jaitley 's remark that India is not what it was in 1962 by saying neither was China and the developments coinciding with unusual activity of Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean Jaitley's comment was a reaction to China's blunt reminder that India should not forget the "historical lessons" of the 1962 war which ended badly for India. On Monday, the rhetoric grew more heated with the Chinese spokesperson noting China too is different and will take "all necessary measures" to safeguard its territorial sovereignty, a PTI report from Beijing said.The sharp exchange comes as Indian and Chinese soldiers have dug into positions and pitched tents in anticipation of a prolonged confrontation near the Sikkim-Bhutan-India trijunction, even as the Navy is closely monitoring "an unusual surge" in the number of Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).Far away from this virtually eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation on the land border, which many believe will eventually ease with "some sort of mutual troop pull-back from the forward positions", India and China are also currently engaged in shadow-boxing on the high seas in the IOR."Indian naval satellite Rukmini (Gsat-7), long-range maritime patrol aircraft like Poseidon-8I and warships have monitored at least 13 Chinese naval units in the IOR over the last two months. They range from the latest Luyang-III class guided-missile destroyers to the more benign hydrographic research vessels," said a source.In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the Sino-India border in the Sikkim sector is well demarcated and said India had "trepassed" into Chinese territory. But while claiming the construction of a road — the bone of contention — was legitimate activity, China has chosen to ignore Bhutan's protest that its land has been encroached upon.With the two armies unwilling to budge from their positions on the Doklam plateau, which is actually Bhutanese territory but being claimed by China to construct a motorable road towards the Doka La area held by Indian troops, sources say diplomatic hotlines are now working overtime to resolve the almost month-long troop confrontation in the remote border region. "It will have to resolved diplomatically. The two armies are playing the waiting game to see if the other side blinks first. As demanded by India and Bhutan, China should restore the status quo that it unilaterally disrupted by entering the Doklam area to construct the road," said a source.As was first reported by TOI last week, both the armies have reinforced their positions in the region by pumping in more troops and setting up logistic chains for food and other supplies. The "pro-active stance" adopted by Indian troops on the ground, in defence of Bhutanese territory because it has "serious security implications" for India as well, has led Beijing to sharpen its public rhetoric against New Delhi.But the Indian defence establishment is undeterred, with its troops holding the militarily stronger position in the area. "Indian Army's border management posture in the region, which includes the Doka La and Nathu La general areas, is geared to cater for any contingency," said another source.With regard to developments in the Indian Ocean, a Chinese Yuan-class conventional submarine is also prowling the waters, after an operational turnaround in Karachi and backed by support vessel Chongmingdao, since April. This is the seventh Chinese submarine to enter the region—China usually alternates a nuclear submarine with a diesel-electric one — since December 2013, as first reported by TOI in May.Interestingly, a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship Haiwingxing is also reported to have entered IOR last week to snoop on the India-US-Japan Malabar naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal from next week. China has deployed such ships in the past also to keep tabs on the Malabar exercise, which it suspects is a naval grouping aimed to contain its growing influence."The fast pace of construction of the Chinese base and support facility at Djibouti will only add to its capability to sustain its naval units in the IOR," said the source, adding that China's maritime surge in the region might have been planned to dovetail with its push along the sensitive tri-junction area on land. </s> Delhi: External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday that it was seeking 'peaceful resolution' of all boundary matters with China, including military standoff at Doklam in the Sikkim sector.

Addressing the press, spokesperson Gopal Baglay referred to India`s June 30 statement to reiterate that "basically India`s approach has been to find peaceful resolution of all matters concerning the border with China."

He also said that India`s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval will be visiting Beijing on July 27 and 28 to attend a BRICS meeting but parried questions whether there will be any bilateral meetings with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the meeting of the five-nation grouping.

The meeting of NSAs of BRICS nations will be hosted by Yang.

However, Baglay refused to share the details on what kind of diplomatic channels the two countries were using to ease the border tension at Doklam.

"I would not like to go into the details of how and between whom and when such conversations have taken place, if they have taken place," he said.

The spokesperson said the government of India has been laying stress on the Astana consensus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at last month that the two countries must not allow differences to become disputes.

"Every responsible power, every responsible person and player in the world, of course, prefers peaceful resolution of matters that are in hand," he said, as per IANS.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today that China intends to unilaterally change the status of the tri-junction with Bhutan, which poses a challenge to India's security.

Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour, she informed the Rajya Sabha that there was a written agreement between India, China and Bhutan in 2012 that the three nations will together decide on the boundaries at the tri-junction point.

The Minister said the boundaries between India and China are yet to be finalised and the two nations will do that bilaterally through discussions, while the same between China and Bhutan too will be done through bilateral talks.

She also accused China of building roads using bulldozers and excavators, which has been protested by Bhutan in writing to China.

The Minister also said that India was not 'unreasonable' on the issue and all nations were with it.

"India's position is not wrong on the tri-junction and all nations are with it. The law is with our country," she said.

Swaraj said all countries are supporting us and they understand that the stand taken by India on the issue is not wrong.

She said the matter can be resolved through talks and "We are willing to talk, but both sides have to first take back their armies."

What India had said on June 30:

India on June 30 had hit back at China for making veiled threats with Defence Minister Arun Jaitely asserting that India of 2017 is different from what it was in 1962.

After China's oblique reference to the war the two countries had fought 55 years ago, Jaitley had said that the current standoff between Indian and Chinese troops was triggered by Beijing.

The MEA had said then that it was essential that all parties concerned display utmost restraint and abide by their respective bilateral understandings not to change the status quo unilaterally.

"India is deeply concerned at the recent Chinese actions and has conveyed to the Chinese government that such construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India," the MEA had asserted in a press release at that time.

"In coordination with the Royal Government of Bhutan, Indian personnel, who were present at general area Doka La, approached the Chinese construction party and urged them to desist from changing the status quo. These efforts continue," the ministry had added.

"It is our understanding that a Royal Bhutan Army patrol attempted to dissuade them (the PLA construction party) from this unilateral activity," the MEA had maintained.

On the other hand, China said today that diplomatic channels with India remained 'unimpeded' to discuss the military standoff in Sikkim sector but reiterated that the withdrawal of the Indian troops from Doklam area is a 'precondition' for any meaningful dialogue.

Lu, however, reiterated that "the withdrawal of the Indian border personnel is the precondition for any meaningful dialogue and communication between the two countries".

Lu claimed that the incident makes it clear that "Indian border personnel illegally trespassed into China's territory," as per PTI.

Why the stand-off at Indo-China border:

Chinese and Indian soldiers have been locked in a face- off for over a month after Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from constructing a road near the Doklam plateau, fearing it may allow China to cut India's access to its northeastern states.

India has conveyed to China that the construction of the road would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for New Delhi.

While status of Sikkim as part of India has been settled with China, the border is yet to be finalised. </s> Four weeks and running, the India-China standoff at Doklam shows no sign of ending. Yes, this one near the borders of India, China and Bhutan seems different and more menacing. It is the first time that India has engaged China from a third country — a fact that seems to have shocked some layers of the Chinese establishment.The message from China’s official, quasi-official and non-official sources is the same, the difference being the degree of belligerence: India is at fault, it must back down, withdraw its troops and let Bhutan and China sort out their boundary dispute. In other words, China should have the freedom to coerce a tiny country.India has maintained a calm but firm stance, kept the temperature low on its side and sent signals it wants to sort the problem with dialogue. The reporting has been sane with none of the hyperbole coming out of various founts of the Chinese media machine. Thankfully, there has been no charge of the Indian TV brigade.Outside experts have weighed in —deconstructing the developments with keen insights. Lapsed ones like 1962 Sino-Indian war scholar Neville Maxwell have also offered their predictable views based on realities frozen in the past. Interestingly, Maxwell’s diatribe came without any input from the Chinese. He was floundering for information from sources far from Beijing. The rest was bias.The reasons for China forcing a boundary dispute front and centre are many. China under President Xi Jinping has flapped its wings all around: from the oceans to the Himalayas to test the resolve of targeted countries. This also happens to be an ‘election’ year in China — even though the winner of the game of thrones is already known.The 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is expected to anoint Xi for a second term. But he is manoeuvring to stay in power beyond the traditional 10 years. At least one prominent rival was put under investigation last week for — what else? —party indiscipline. Xi could be around until 2027.There was no pressing need for the current confrontation with India. But it is continuation of adversarial politics by other means. The mythology around the closed Chinese system is so exaggerated that Western experts step gingerly around its constant aggressions, almost afraid to call China out as they do Russia.The Chinese have cleverly managed to play both instigator and victim in the Doklam stand-off. Making a distinction between India and Bhutan, and treating them separately without any cognisance of the India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, profits the Chinese. It allows Beijing to demand that India unilaterally vacate its positions on China’s terms. The Chinese also chose the time carefully.Their road-building in Doklam came before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump , and after his meeting with Xi in Astana on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.Earlier, border transgressions, such as the one in Depsang, occurred when Sino-Indian relations were relatively stable — or at least in better shape than they are now. Who bears primary blame for deterioration is a matter of judgement.After Modi naïvely tried to establish a personal relationship with Xi and failed, the more innate parts of the BJP’s thinking on China appear to have crept in. This may have partly led India to ‘expose’ China on issues related to Pakistan: India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) and efforts to get Pakistani terrorists on the UN sanctions list.Acycle of action and reaction followed. The Chinese were apoplectic when the Dalai Lama visited Arunachal Pradesh. But why shouldn’t a religious leader travel freely in India? The list of hostile acts by the Chinese against India is long, starting with making Pakistan into a bigger nuisance than it already was by augmenting its nuclear and missile capabilities. They completed the circle by running the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor ( CPEC ) through territory claimed by India.China’s ‘string of pearls’ strategy of systematically influencing India’s closest neighbours, its forays into the Indian Ocean and the constant border incursions despite management mechanisms laboriously put in place — Beijing has constantly tried to restrict India’s strategic space while slowly gobbling land bit by bit. India’s proximity to the US is deemed suspect and destabilising for Asia. But China can seek a ‘new type of major power relations’ with Washington.China can violate agreements it signed in the past by simply pleading it was ‘weak’ then, even though it has been courted by different blocs since the middle of the last century. China has successfully kept the Association of South Asian Nations (Asean) divided for years, never allowing a consensus to emerge on a ‘code of conduct’ for settling disputes in the South China Sea In China’s worldview, no one has the same rights and privileges it does. Not for nothing does China call itself the Middle Kingdom. It’s not the middle between Left and Right, but the middle around which the world revolves. Those who know the language and Chinese characters say people often miss this nuance.No one can predict how or when the current stand-off will end. But we know intimidation is a bully’s primary tactic. And if you are not intimidated, the bully normally backs off. </s> NEW DELHI: India condemned a new road that China is building on the rivals’ Himalayan border on Friday, saying it raises “serious security” concerns.

The two sides are trading increasingly stern diplomatic warnings over the new hotspot, a remote scrap of territory where the frontiers of China, India and Bhutan meet.

Beijing made a formal protest this week, accusing Indian border guards of crossing from the northeastern state of Sikkim into its Tibetan territory to stop the road building.

India’s foreign ministry said Friday that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops entered the area to “unilaterally” construct the road.

“India is deeply concerned at the recent Chinese actions and has conveyed to the Chinese government that such construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India,” a ministry statement said.

“India cherishes peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas. It has not come easily,” it said, urging Beijing to resolve the skirmish through dialogue.

India and China have long disputed parts of their Himalayan border, and regularly accuse each other of making illegal troop encroachments.

Bhutan has also lodged a formal protest to China, saying the road violated a bilateral agreement.

Bhutan, which does not have diplomatic relations with China, still disputes sovereignty of the land. And the showdown is part of a wider friction between India and China over the 4,057 kilometer (2,520 mile) border.

China has insisted several times this week that India withdraw troops who are “trespassing” on its side of the frontier.

It insists that it has every right to build the road and that it controls the territory under an 1890 accord made with Britain when it was colonial power in the region.

“We can tell you that the Chinese people hold a friendly and goodwill relations to the Bhutan people but our determination to uphold our territorial integrity and sovereignty is unwavering,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Friday.

“The nature of this standoff is quite clear, it’s a trespass by the Indian side to the Chinese border. So the obvious thing is their withdrawal from the Chinese side.”

India and China’s ties have been dogged by mistrust stemming from a brief war in 1962 over the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh which has a large ethnic Tibetan population.

Flare-ups around Sikkim are rare. It is the least populous and second smallest of India’s states, but its location gives it strategic importance.

India’s seven remote northeastern states are connected to the rest of the country by a narrow sliver of land known as the “chicken’s neck”. Sikkim is wedged between Nepal, Bhutan and China.

“The Chinese have realised that India is vulnerable at the ‘chicken neck’ so it could be a way to test the reaction of the Indian establishment,” said Sameer Patil, a defence and security analyst at the Mumbai-based Gateway House think-tank.

Tensions along the frontier rose in 2014 when Chinese soldiers moved into territory on the Sikkim-Tibet border claimed by India, sparking a two-week stand-off.

Hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops faced off on the de facto border, overshadowing a visit by China’s President Xi Jinping.

The latest border “scuffle” was triggered after PLA soldiers damaged two old Indian bunkers, according to Indian media.

China has reportedly since stopped pilgrims crossing into Tibet to visit a mountain shrine to the revered Hindu god Shiva because of the showdown.

India has a number of disputes with China. It is angry at China for proposing to finance Pakistan infrastructure in disputed Kashmir, which India also claims.

It also blames China for blocking its efforts to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the international club that controls the global nuclear trade. – AFP </s> BEIJING: China today said there was no scope for a "compromise" in the military standoff with India in the Sikkim section, and put the onus on New Delhi to resolve the "grave" situation.In unusually blunt remarks, China's Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui said "the ball is in India's court" and it was for the Indian government to decide what options could be on the table to resolve the standoff.Asked about remarks by official Chinese media and think- tanks that the conflict can lead to a "war" if not handled properly, the ambassador said in an interview to PTI: "There has been talk about this option, that option. It is up to your government policy (whether to exercise military option)."The Chinese government is very clear that it wants peaceful resolution at current state of the situation for which withdrawal of Indian troops from the area is a "pre- condition", he asserted. However, he made it clear that there was no scope for a "compromise" on the issue."The first priority is that the Indian troops unconditionally pull back to the Indian side of the boundary. That is the precondition for any meaningful dialogue between China and India," he said.China and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan trijunction for past 19 days after a Chinese army's construction party came to build a road.Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region. China and Bhutan are engaged in talks over the resolution of the area. Bhutan, however, has no diplomatic ties with China and it is supported militarily and diplomatically by India."The situation is grave and made me deeply worried. It is the first time that Indian troops have crossed the mutually recognised boundary and trespassed into China's territory, triggering a close range face off between Chinese and Indian border troops. Now 19 days have passed, but the situation still has not eased," Luo said.He also asserted that India has no right to interfere with the China-Bhutan boundary talks, nor is it entitled to make territorial claims on behalf of Bhutan.On the standoff, the Ministry of External Affairs had said India was "deeply concerned at the recent Chinese actions and has conveyed to the Chinese government that such construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India"."As for the so called 'security concerns' of the Indian side, India has crossed a delimited boundary into other country's territory in the name of security concerns, no matter what kind of activities it conducts there, which will not acceptable to any sovereign state."India cannot encroach upon the territory of other countries on the ground of its 'security concerns'. Otherwise, the world would be in chaos," the Chinese envoy added.He also asserted that "it is critical that India shall withdraw its troops immediately to minimise the negative impact. It serves the interests of the two sides."He also noted that the current standoff was of different nature from the previous frictions between the two countries, and said it was the first time that such a severe situation has occurred at the Sikkim section of the China-India boundary. </s> New Delhi: As the India-China military standoff on the Doklam plateau in Bhutan enters its third month, China’s official Xinhua news agency has released a video that mocks and parodies Indians in what is the latest attack against India by the Chinese state media.

The video, which is in English and is a little more than three minutes long, is titled the “7 Sins of India: It’s time for India to confess its seven sins”.

It features a Chinese woman anchor who explains the Doklam standoff from the Chinese perspective and a man with a turban and a fake beard—an apparent attempt at parodying an Indian Sikh and mimicking the way Indians are perceived to speak English.

According to the clip, India’s seven “biblical” sins are: trespassing, violating a bilateral convention, trampling international law, confusing right and wrong, putting the blame on the victim, hijacking a small neighbour and sticking to a mistake knowingly.

“China has realised it is impossible to awaken a guy who is pretending to be asleep,” the Chinese anchor hosting the video says.

This is followed by the first appearance of the “Indian turbaned Sikh” who says, “Nobody is blaming me because I am asleep”—an allusion perhaps to the Chinese perception that in reality, India is being blamed for the standoff but refuses to acknowledge it.

Also read: The logic of India’s response to China

India’s position that it is the Chinese side which trespassed into Bhutan is mocked by the anchor, who accuses India of entering “undisputed Chinese territory” with bulldozers.

The anchor then questions the alleged move by Indian troops of driving bulldozers into a neighbour’s (China’s) “house” without knocking. “What kind of neighbour would that be?” she asks. “Didn’t your mama tell you, never break the law?” she adds.

The Indian government’s contention that the Chinese entering Bhutanese territory with earthmoving equipment for the construction on a road close to India’s sensitive northeast had security implications for India is also ridiculed. “He is building a path in his garden. I am in danger,” says the “Indian” in the video shaking in apparent fear—in what seems to be Xinhua’s way of dismissing India’s concerns.

On India’s contention that it is protecting Bhutan’s territory, the Xinhua video features the “Indian Sikh” in the same frame as an alleged “Bhutanese” national.

“Don’t move, this is Bhutan’s home. I am here protecting it,” the “Indian” says, while the “Bhutanese” looks perplexed and shakes his head in denial when the anchor asks whether the territory India is stating to be Bhutanese is his home. “No not my home,” says the “Bhutanese” as the “Indian” is shown brandishing a pair of scissors, possibly as a threat to the “Bhutanese”.

When the anchor asks whether Bhutan had sought India’s help to protect Doklam, the “Bhutanese” national does not answer but looks decidedly wary as the “Indian” points the scissors at him in a seemingly threatening gesture. The implication is clear—that the “Bhutanese” national is keeping quiet under pressure from the “Indian”.

The military standoff at Doklam began on 16 June after Indian troops acted in coordination with Bhutanese authorities to block the construction of a road by Chinese authorities.

In the two months since then, Chinese state-controlled media has put out countless articles criticizing and dismissing India’s arguments. Many of them have also sought to remind India of the brief but bitter 1962 war between India and China that went badly for India. </s> Troops from China’s People’s Liberation Army continue to deploy construction equipment in an effort to drive a dirt track through the strategic Doklam plateau despite a three week stand-off with the Indian Army and the Royal Bhutan Army, senior Indian government officials said on Friday. The PLA’s road works, the officials said, are aimed at bringing a road close to Doka La, India’s last military post on the junction of its boundary with Bhutan and China.

Both sides have reinforced their positions amidst a continuing war of words between Beijing and New Delhi. Indian military officials rejected claims that there were signs of imminent conflict in the region — the site of intense skirmishes in 1967, provoked by similar disputes over border works.

In first official comments on the crisis, New Delhi admitted that its troops had blocked PLA road works inside Bhutan territory claimed by China, saying “such construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India”.

India and Bhutan, the government said, have been in “continuous contact” over the Doklam developments. “In coordination with the Bhutanese government, Indian personnel, who were present at general area Doka La, approached the Chinese construction party and urged them to desist from changing the status quo… these efforts continue,” a government statement said.

It said the matter has been “under discussion” at the diplomatic level, both in New Delhi and Beijing. Sources said that Indian ambassador Vijay Gokhale had conveyed India’s concerns in Beijing, while senior officials in the Ministry of External Affairs have reached out to their Chinese counterparts. “It was also the subject of a Border Personnel Meeting at Nathu La on 20 June,” the government said.

The Indian side has underlined that the two governments had agreed in 2012 that the tri-junction boundary points between India, China and third countries will be finalised in consultation with the countries concerned. “Any attempt, therefore, to unilaterally determine tri-junction points is in violation of this understanding,” it said.

In Beijing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang said diplomatic channels with India were “unimpeded” for “meaningful talks” over the military stand-off but maintained that Indian troops must first withdraw from the Doklam area over which Beijing has “indisputable sovereignty”. He said Indian troops “trespassed” the recognised delineated boundary between China and India on June 18.

Donglong (the name China uses for Doklam), he said, had been a traditional pasture for Tibetan residents. “We have exercised good administration over the area and before the 1960s, people from Bhutan required consent from China for cattle grazing and the Tibetan archives still have receipts of the same,” Lu said.

“Frankly, this crisis has surprised the government”, a senior Indian diplomatic official said, “coming after what New Delhi had seen as a willingness on China’s part to iron out problems in the relationship. During their recent summit meeting in Astana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told President Xi Jinping that we did not want differences to want disputes, and he agreed”.

Bhutan’s Army, Indian military sources said, has remained in close touch with their Indian counterparts, but has not operationally deployed in the effort to push back Chinese road-building in Doklam. “Bhutan is in a very uncomfortable position,” a diplomat said. “It is acutely sensitive about the intrusion on its sovereignty, but also does not want a crisis to break out”.

The Doklam plateau was first claimed by China in the late 1950s, in the build-up to its 1962 war with India. Ever since 1988, PLA patrols have regularly cut past Bhutan’s claim line, the Sinche La ridge, using a network of dirt tracks which lead up to Chele La post, the country’s permanent position on the Zompelri ridge, which leads westward from India’s Doka La post.

Indian government sources said the ongoing crisis began on June 16, when the PLA moved a substantial earthmoving unit on to the Doklam plateau, and began building a road leading towards Doka La. Royal Bhutan Army soldiers from the Zompelri ridge, the sources said, attempted to intervene, but were pushed back on to the ridge.

However, in response to a request from the beleaguered Bhutanese troops, Indian soldiers on Doka La moved down the ridge, and obstructed the border works, leading to a stand-off.

Indian Army sources said this confrontation had been preceded by a scuffle between a PLA road construction unit and Indian troops on the night June 4-5, which had resulted in minor injuries to two Chinese personnel. China then used earthmoving equipment to demolish a two-decade-old earth-and-rock bunker near Doka La, at a position Indian soldiers refer to as Laltain.

Troops, military sources said, are now located on either side of a position in Chinese-claimed Bhutanese territory below Doka La, called Turning Point, in a face-to-face position, using banners and loud-hailers to assert their claims.

“No pushing and shoving is taking place”, a government official insisted. “The video that has been doing the rounds is archival, not from the current crisis, and completely misrepresents the situation.”

New Delhi, an Indian diplomat said, has told Beijing that its construction works mark an effort to unilaterally determine a three-country junction marked a violation of written accords arrived at between special representatives of the two governments.

In addition, New Delhi has rejected Beijing’s claims, made in statements by its Foreign Ministry, that the India-China boundary in Sikkim is settled, noting that the two countries have yet to agree to demarcation of their borders.

Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region, experts say, could be aimed at pushing Bhutan to agree to swap Doklam — a springboard for potential Indian strikes on China’s road and future rail links north to Lhasa — for other territory it has asserted claims to in the north.

Though both sides appear committed to avoid any escalation of the stand-off, the history of the 1967 crisis in the Chumbi Valley — the same territory now at stake — shows disputes over border construction can have serious outcomes. In that case, India responded to Chinese trench construction on its side of the boundary by laying a barbed-wire fence, leading the PLA to open fire with machine guns.

Indian Army units, well positioned on high ground above the Sebu La pass, were able to bring down accurate artillery fire, destroying several bunkers and inflicting large numbers of casualties. Later that year, a scuffle on the Cho La pass again led to clashes, in which the PLA was pushed back three kilometres. The initial attack, scholar Taylor Fravel recorded, was not authorised by China’s all-powerful Central Military Commission, and then Premier Zhou Enlai subsequently ordered the PLA not to open fire unless fired upon.

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App
Amid growing tensions between China and India and Bhutan over disputed land, the Bharatiya Janata Party supports the words of defence minster Arun Jaitley that "India of 2017 is different from India of 1962". It follows a warning from China to India that referenced the defeat of the latter during the 1962 Sino-Indian War.