[In India, some experts interpreted the statements — and New Delhi’s comments about having raised its security concerns — to mean that China had quietly agreed to stop building the road in question, but would not say so publicly. Others said this was not clear.]
By Simon Denyer and Annie Gowen
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In this July 2006 photo,
a Chinese and Indian soldier place a barbed wire fence following a meeting of military
representatives at the Nathu La border crossing between India and China in India's
northeastern Sikkim state.
(Desha-Kalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images)
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BEIJING
— India has begun
withdrawing troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China,
foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense
stand-off that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the
nuclear-armed Asian rivals.
For the past two months, Indian and Chinese
troops had faced off on a plateau in the Doklam area in Himalayas, after Indian
troops moved in to prevent the Chinese military building a road into territory
claimed by India’s close ally, Bhutan.
China had repeatedly and furiously denounced
the Indian move as a direct infringement of its sovereignty, demanded an
immediate and unconditional withdrawal, and warned that conflict was a real
possibility if that didn’t happen.
On Monday, the two sides announced they had
reached an agreement. But it was unclear if Beijing offered any concessions in
return, such as agreeing to halt the construction of the road.
China said only that it would redeploy its
forces according to the changing situation, but would continue to patrol and
garrison the area.
In a short statement, India’s Ministry of
External Affairs said the two countries had maintained diplomatic communication
over the dispute in recent weeks.
“During these communications, we were able to
express our views and convey our concerns and interests,” it said. “On this
basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at
Doklam has been agreed to and is on-going.”
China’s Foreign Ministry said it was happy to
confirm that all Indian “individuals and facilities” have withdrawn to the
India side of the border.
Without saying so directly, Beijing implied
it would not need to keep so many troops stationed in the area, having moved a
number there in response to the Indian deployment.
“The Chinese frontier defense force will
continue to patrol and garrison in the Doklam area,” spokeswoman Hua Chunying
told a regular news conference. “The situation at the spot has changed, and
China will adjust and deploy according to current situation.”
Hua said China will “exercise its sovereign
rights according to the historical treaty and guard its territorial
sovereignty.”
China maintains the area in question was
listed as on its side of the border under the 1890 “Convention Between Great
Britain and China Concerning Sikkim and Tibet.”
“The Chinese government values the
development of a harmonious neighborly relationship with India,” Hua said.
“China hopes India will join it in maintaining border peace and stability on
the basis of mutual respect, and keep the relationship developing in a healthy
way.”
Earlier on Monday, the state-owned China
Daily newspaper had warned India stood “to face retribution” over the incident,
arguing that New Delhi was complacent if it thought China was not prepared for
military conflict if necessary.
The announcement clears the air ahead of a
meeting of the “BRICS” countries in China this weekend, a bloc comprising
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
“It’s hugely
good news,” said Wang Dehua, an Indian studies expert at the Shanghai
Institute for International Studies.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said,
had “made a sound decision at a crucial moment
that will benefit both Chinese and Indian people and the generations to
come.”
“We have avoided falling into the situation
where two major countries with ancient civilizations become hostile enemies,”
Wang said, while cautioning against declaring the incident a big win or a
diplomatic victory for China.
He said China would try to address India’s
security concerns when Modi visits for the summit, but would continue building
roads in border areas. “We should show them that building roads will be
beneficial for all and there’s nothing to worry about,” he said.
In India, some experts interpreted the
statements — and New Delhi’s comments about having raised its security concerns
— to mean that China had quietly agreed to stop building the road in question,
but would not say so publicly. Others
said this was not clear.
“As the Chinese have stated publicly that
Indian troops have withdrawn, India should also state clearly that China won't
make that road,” Sushant Singh, associate editor of the Indian Express tweeted.
“That will clear all the confusion about the terms on which the disengagement
happened.”
Noting that China said it would continue to
fulfill its territorial rights, opposition member of parliament Shashi Tharoor
asked if this would include road-building.
“Did we blink?,” he tweeted.
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan was
inadvertently swept up into the dispute when Indian soldiers moved from a
nearby garrison into territory Bhutan contests with China, to block a crew from
China's People’s Liberation Army that was preparing to build a “motorable” road
in the area.
A few hundred troops from India and China
were eventually deployed in a standoff that has produced harsh rhetoric —
mostly from the Chinese side — and sparked a period of tension between the
neighbors not seen for decades, analysts have said.
Although India and China have often sparred
over the disputed areas along their estimated 2,100 mile border — and fought a
brief war over it in 1962 — this clash was unusual because it involved a third
country and came at a time when relations between India and China were at a low
ebb.
Whether India — long a great patron of Bhutan
— moved after coordinating with Bhutanese forces, as the Indians have said, or
moved in on their own, as China claims, is the subject of much debate.
The Bhutan government was careful not to make
comments and inflame tensions, and, aside from one brief statement from their
Foreign Ministry, maintained a calculated silence throughout the dispute.
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