Troops patrolling Doklam to exercise sovereignty: China

Beijing, October 6 

China today defended the presence of its troops in the Doklam area, over a month after the standoff with India ended, saying its soldiers are patrolling the region, also claimed by Bhutan, to exercise Beijing’s sovereignty.

“The Donglang (Doklam) area has always belonged to China and has been under the effective jurisdiction of China,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said here in response to questions about a report that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is beefing up troops in the area.

“There is no dispute. The Chinese border forces have been patrolling in the area of Donglang, exercising their sovereign rights and safeguarding territorial sovereignty according to the historical boundary,” the ministry said in a written response.

The 73-day Doklam standoff which began on June 16 over PLA’s plans to build a road in area claimed by Bhutan, ended on August 28 following mutual agreement between India and China.

Recent reports in India said China has beefed up its troop strength in the area.

Yesterday, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said Chinese troops were currently present in the Chumbi Valley, which is in the Doklam Plateau.

“The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over,” Dhanoa said.

About Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar’s visit to Bhutan, the first such visit after the Doklam standoff, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said “although China and Bhutan have not yet established diplomatic relations, the two countries have maintained traditional friendly relations”. — PTI 

  Rahul seeks explanation from PM

• The Congress on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the nation what was happening at Doklam and about his policy on the issue with Rahul Gandhi taking a swipe at him demanding an explanation on road construction by China if he was done with “chest thumping”
• Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal asked Modi to explain his policy to deal with the issue and whether he intended to invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to Sabarmati again. The comments came a day after sources said China maintained a sizeable presence of troops near the site of the Doklam standoff