January 22, 2025

China has agreed to stop constructing the proposed road in Doklam and remove the building equipment. Simultaneously, India has agreed to withdraw its troops back to the Indian side of the border. With this, the potentially threatening stand-off seems to be a thing of the past although it will take a few days to complete the pull-out. While China has said it will continue patrolling at Doklam that really does not mean much as they have been doing that for years. India, obviously, has its own devices to keep track of what the Chinese do at the border.

With much at stake at ground zero, it was obvious that neither side would back down on its own. It has taken a lot of backroom diplomatic effort to bring things under control. The MEA and Sushma Swaraj must be congratulated for having achieved a breakthrough without losing face. Although the Chinese are thumping their chests and calling it a victory for their position in Doklam, the rest of the world has only praise for the restraint India has shown in face of heavy needling by China. India has only said that a peaceful solution has been reached in Doklam through diplomatic means. It shows how the MEA has left dogmatism behind and become mature.

The Doklam stand-off had all the ingredients to turn into a skirmish, if not a full scale war. At stake was China’s desire to gain access to geo-politically sensitive chicken’s neck, a small piece of land that connects the rest of India to its north-eastern states. India was determined not to allow China to construct a road that could send its army to the north-east easily through an alternative route, more so when the road was to be constructed in the area that belongs to Bhutan, a friendly neighbor with whom India has a security and protection agreement.

The Chinese claimed Doklam belonged to them and they were within their rights to construct the road. In fact, the Chinese state media went in an overdrive to project Indians as trespassers. China put immense pressure on Bhutan to forgo its claim on Doklam. The stand-off continued for two months with neither side blinking. At times, it seemed there will be war. But better sense seems to have prevailed and it seems things will be back to normal soon.

pic courtesy: aajtak