Reports of China at Doklam After Army Chief Said ‘All is Well’

A day after Rawat claimed all is well between India-China, reports of China’s strong presence at Doklam emerge.

Rawat added that the mechanisms established between India and China are working “very well”.

(Photo: The Quint)

China has reportedly taken control of the northern side of the Doklam plateau, according to pictures released by The Print as well as NDTV. The satellite pictures were reportedly taken on 10 December 2017.

The report comes a day after Army Chief Bipin Rawat said that the India-China "bonhomie" before the Doklam standoff has returned, but the troops were ‘ready for anything’.

In a Facebook Live during the ongoing Raisina Dialogue, organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), he said: "I think the bonhomie (between India and China) has returned to what it was prior to the Doklam standoff. I don't visualise very serious trouble, but then one has to be prepared for anything."

The images released by the new organisations show that heavy road building machinery is still present close to the stand-off point in the Chinese territory of the Doklam plateau.

Gen Rawat said Indian troops were still stationed in the northern part of the plateau, which is a part of Chinese territory.

As far as Doklam is concerned, PLA soldiers are there in a part of the area, although not in the numbers that we saw them in initially. They have carried out some infrastructure development which is mostly temporary in nature.

"While troops (PLA) may have returned and infrastructure remains, it is anybody's guess whether they would come back or is it because of the winter that they could not take their equipment. But we are also there, so in case they come back, we will face them," he said.

The reports contradicting the Army Chief’s statements have drawn strong criticism from across the country.

Rawat, however, added that the mechanisms established between India and China are working "very well".

"Mechanisms that we have of defusing tensions between the two countries are working very well, and after Doklam, we've started our Border Personnel Meeting and we are meeting regularly, exchanges are taking place, and communication between commanders at ground level is on," he said.

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