In a historic move, the Ministry of External Affairs, India started disengagement of troops at the Doklam standoff border site. It was reported in the second half of Monday that the disengagement exercise was finished after the wait of two and a half month standoff. The Chinese side had furthermore agreed to clean the disputed site by removing road construction equipment after Doklam standoff.
The move is being viewed as a spectacular diplomatic victory of the Indian government in decades over India China dispute of Doklam. It is commendable to note that the execution of India’s strategy was seamless and a strong headed counter to salami tactics of China. The impact of the victory can be inferred from the crushing defeat of Xi Jinping, who was the game planner of the Bhutan gambit. His assumptions turned out to be erroneous. Out of this, the major was the belief that ripping Bhutan from India could bash it for its OBOR Lese-majeste. The reasons could be attributed to pressuring Bhutan for opening direct talks with China and thereafter making it vulnerable to OBOR. India’s stand on the issue has come as a major setback to China in recent history.
It is interesting to note that Chinese actions have brought India’s diplomatic intellect and supremacy to the limelight, and portrayed it as mature and responsible status quo power.
It was evident from the initial stages that China had limited options to exercise. If China employed force, it would turn out to be a precedent for either counter or respond forcefully to China land grabs, and eventually destroy several fundamentals of nuclear deterrence. India’s stand on the issue has created a benchmark for other countries to follow. Chinese politics is also likely to be affected by the move as a leadership challenge is being viewed by the 19th party Congress in Beijing.
