China justifies its stand, says Doklam belongs to us

Beijing: Over a month after the Doklam border stand-off with China was resolved diplomatically, the neighbouring country on Friday defended the presence of its troops in the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction, claiming that the area always belonged to them.

"The Donglang (Doklam) area has always belonged to China and has been under the effective jurisdiction of China," the Chinese Foreign Ministry told PTI in response to questions about a report that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is beefing up troops in the area.

"There is no dispute. The Chinese border forces have been patrolling in the area of Donglang, exercising their sovereign rights and safeguarding territorial sovereignty according to the historical boundary," the Ministry said in a written response.

The reaction from the Chinese Foreign Ministry came a day after it was reported that Beijing is still flexing its muscles and has deployed more troops in the Chumbi Valley.

It was also reported that China is building bunkers and a road on the Doklam Plateau, just 10 km from the location of the last conflict.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Dokalam that began from June 16 over road construction activity at the India-Bhutan-China trijunction.

It is to be noted that the Doklam Plateau is claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan as their territory. The tension eased after talks between top officials of both the countries.

Meanwhile, Indian Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa, in a press briefing on Thursday, confirmed the presence of the Chinese troops in Chumbi Valley in the Doklam Plateau.

However, he appeared confident that a peaceful resolution of the issue with China was still possible.

Dhanoa, while stating that the stand-off with China can be resolved diplomatically, ruled out any possibility of a military face-off with the neighbouring Communist state.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, I expect the Chinese troops to withdraw from Chumbi Valley as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa told reporters ahead of IAF Day, which is marked on October 8.

Dhanoa also rejected concerns regarding India's military preparedness vis-a-vis Beijing and said that the IAF is capable of effectively countering any threat from China and Pakistan simultaneously in a two-front war.

(With PTI inputs)