CHINA-INDIA: DOKLUM DISENGAGEMENT

A carefully worded editorial in the official Global Times on August 30, 2017, sought to clearly suggest that India had backed down at Doklum and 'India withdrew its troops to its own territory along the China-India border on Monday. The next day, it announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the BRICS summit in Xiamen, China in early September'. It did add though that 'Both China and India have indicated that they intend to leave the Doklam border standoff behind as soon as possible'. It said ' a few Indian media outlets claimed a victory for New Delhi. A so-called inside story was revealed to prove that the Indian side took the upper hand' and that in contrast 'Chinese public opinion has exercised restraint and avoided irritating India that has to pull its soldiers from the Doklam area'. It claimed that 'the Indian troops withdrew to their own side on Monday. By so doing, India has admitted that China has sovereignty and the actual control over the Doklam area. China has also made it clear that its border troops will continue with their patrols in the area. Public opinion in India is trying its utmost to prove New Delhi's dignity, which China doesn't refute. The Chinese side was willing to see Indian soldiers withdraw without losing face'. Global Times also said 'A few Chinese perhaps are not satisfied that the crisis was settled this way. They wish the People's Liberation Army could have given India's troops a good slap. Indians have their own regrets. When the confrontation ended, China stressed its sovereignty and control over the Doklam area and did not make the open commitment that India had hoped for'. It cautioned, however, that 'this incident shows that India may act beyond the logic of international relations and 'the two countries deepen their understanding, they must pay more attention to avoid any misjudgments that may lead to a new crisis'. At the same time it urged China 'to enhance its deterrence to avoid external provocations. China has powerful comprehensive strength, while how we utilize this strength to safeguard our national interests hasn't been recognized by external forces and has to be proved in a crisis. This will add costs to China's safeguarding of its national security, so enhancing our deterrence needs to be one of our grand national plans'.





Subscribe to Newswire | Site Map | Email Us
Centre for China Analysis and Strategy, A-50, Second Floor, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-110057
Tel: 011 41017353
Email: office@ccasindia.org