India is keeping a hawk eye on the continuing presence of Chinese troops and their construction activities in north Doklam near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction, even as Army chief General Bipin Rawat said bilateral bonhomie had returned to the same level that existed before the 73-day troop face off in the region last year.
NEW DELHI:(Pakistan Point News - 18th Jan, 2018) India is keeping a hawk eye on the continuing presence of Chinese troops and their construction activities in north Doklam near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction, even as Army chief General Bipin Rawat said bilateral bonhomie had returned to the same level that existed before the 73-day troop face off in the region last year. The Indian security establishment believes People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers may return in "greater numbers" to the Doklam area ,which is disputed between China and Bhutan, for some muscle-flexing after the harsh winter is over, Times of India reported on Thursday.
"They have built infrastructure for it in north Doklam (separated from south Doklam by the Torsa Nala rivulet). But our troops, atop the watershed that dominates Doklam, are much better placed in terms of terrain. We are in a wait-and-watch mode, prepared for any eventuality," an official said. Indian troops will step in again if the PLA tries to disrupt the status quo, like it did in June last year by trying to extend its existing road southwards towards the Jampheri Ridge in south Doklam.
There are around 1,600 Chinese troops stationed in the north Doklam area, having established a permanent presence there with the construction of helipads, upgraded roads, pre-fabricated huts, shelters and stores to withstand the chill in the high-altitude region. "The PLA soldiers are (still) there in a part of the area (north Doklam), although not in numbers that we saw them in initially. They have carried out some infrastructure development which is mostly temporary in nature.
But we are also there. So, in case they come, we will face them," said Gen Rawat, speaking at a conclave here on Wednesday. The Army chief, however, added, "I think the bonhomie (between India and China) has returned to what was there prior to Doklam. So, I don't visualise very serious trouble, but then one has to be prepared for it always." The Army chief said bilateral mechanisms, from border personnel meetings to communications between local commanders, to defuse tensions between the two countries "are working very well" as of now.
