♤ Bhutan said the road China has been building would run from the town of Dokola to the Bhutanese army camp at Zompelri.

♤ India argued that the two governments reached an agreement in 2012 that the status of the Doklam area which falls between China and India on a Bhutanese plateau would be finalised only through joint consultations involving all parties.

♤ Bhutan’s Foreign Ministry called it a “direct violation” of agreements reached in 1988 and 1998 to maintain peace and refrain from unilateral action in the area pending a final border settlement.

♤ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang argued that India had “illegally trespassed the boundary into Chinese territory” when they confronted the Chinese army construction team.

♤ The Chinese have responded by suspending the Kailash-Mansoravar yatra through the Nathu La pass and even warning India to not forget “historical lessons” from the 1962 war.

♤ For India, securing the Doklam Plateau is seen as essential to the Siliguri corridor, that connects to its remote northeastern States.

♤ India has said the Chinese road project threatens its access to the corridor, while China has questioned why India should even have a say in a matter that concerns only Beijing and Bhutan.

♤ Indian analysts said China appeared to be trying to pre-empt settlement negotiations by establishing its presence in Doklam, As Beijing has been trying long to gain a tactical advantage in this sector.

♤ The dispute was discussed briefly without resolution by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

♤ With the August 28, 2017 disengagement while the crisis has been defused for the time being, the probability of a future flare up cannot be ruled out.

1.5.1. Confrontation at the Borders: A Pattern

♤ There Have been other such skirmishes in the past too:

♤ Military stand-off in Chumar-Demchok area in Ladakh region 2014.Chumar area, on the other hand, was never contested till recently and was beyond the Chinese claim line of 1960.

♤ In the Depsang incident 2013, Area intruded was beyond the 1960 claim line of China and also beyond the farthest line up to which Chinese army had reached during 1962 War, the LAC in this area has not been mutually agreed upon.