Doklam faceoff got resolved because India is a global power: Rajnath Singh

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP State Unit President B S Yeduyurappa, Union Minister’s Ananth Kumar and Prakash Javdekar during a programme held to celebrate the 9th anniversary of Vishwakarma Mahasabha at palace grounds in Bengaluru on Sunday. (PTI)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that India has become a powerful nation and that is why it was able to resolve the standoff at Doklam with China. “Had India remained weak, the Doklam standoff would not have been resolved till now. It was possible only because India has become a world power,” said while addressing a gathering at the 9th Vishwakarma Jayanothsav in Bengaluru.

Troops from India and China had been locked in a face off in the Doklam region for over two months. “Everyone was expecting that relation between China and India will deteriorate due to the Doklam issue, but both the countries resolved the issue with comprehension,” Singh said.

Recently, the Union Minister had stated that India and China were able to resolve the Doklam standoff through dialogue and both had shared a positive approach during Dussehra celebrations with ITBP jawans in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath region. “There was a deadlock in Doklam but we succeeded in resolving issue through dialogue. India and China had a positive approach,” he had earlier said.

Five weeks ago, India and China troops had stepped back from the standoff at Doklam on the Sikkim border but a report published in The Indian Express said that 1000 Chinese troops were still present near the site of the faceoff.

The process of ‘disengagement’ had begun on August 28 following which the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had reduced its presence from the site. However, one PLA battalion is still present on the plateau approximately 800m from the faceoff site, according to the report. Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa had also acknowledged the fact that Chinese soldiers were present in the Chumbi Valley during his recent press conference on Thursday. He had also asserted that the Indian Air Force was capable enough and ready to go on a two-front war with China and Pakistan if need be.

The 73-day Doklam standoff started on June 16 when Chinese troops attempted to build a road in territory claimed by Bhutan close to the Indian border. Indian troops objected to it and stopped the Chinese from building the road. On September 7, as first reported by The Indian Express, both sides moved away by 150 metres from the faceoff site as the first major step in the disengagement.

Following reports of Chinese troop build-up on Doklam plateau, the Ministry of External Affairs made it clear that there were “no new developments” at the “face-off site and its vicinity” since the disengagement on August 28.

New Delhi’s clarification came on a day Beijing defended the presence of its troops in Doklam area, saying its soldiers are patrolling the region to exercise Beijing’s sovereignty, according to a PTI report from Beijing.

With ANI inputs