Status quo at Doklam face-off site, clarifies MEA

NEW DELHI: Amid reports citing satellite imagery to show that Chinese troops were still present in the Doklam region, the government Friday reiterated that there was no fresh activity at the Sino-Indian face-off site and that the "alleged Chinese build up'' was well within China''.

"The status quo prevails in the area and any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect and mischievous,'' said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

"I would like to reiterate that there is no new development at the face-off site and its vicinity since the August 28 disengagement," he added. Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Unlike Bhutan and China, India is not party to the Doklam territorial dispute but it was forced to block Chinese road construction on the Doklam plateau because of security concerns.

For India, the main issue remains construction of road by the Chinese towards the south and so far, officials said, there is nothing to suggest that Beijing has restarted work on that road.

The MEA on August 28 had announced that both sides were disengaging from the face-off site. A retired military intelligence official had earlier claimed in a media report, which was based on satellite images of the area on September 6, that despite the August 28 disengagement, the situation had not normalised because of a Chinese troop build-up not far away from the face-off site.