No sign of an end to the Sikkim standoff between India and China

A day after Defence Minister Arun Jaitley reminded China that India in 2017 is not India of 1962, the Chinese Government on Sunday released maps to claim that Doklam at the tri-junction of India-Bhutan-China is part of Chinese territory. China had earlier released photographs to allege Indian troops had intruded into Chinese territory.

Of the 3,488-km-long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220-km section falls in Sikkim.

It is now known that it was the Royal Bhutanese Army which sought the help of Indian soldiers to stop Chinese road building activity at the disputed site. China was said to be constructing a motorable road to Jomperi near a Bhutanese army camp.

After Indian troops intervened, China’s People’s Liberation Army destroyed two Indian bunkers. The Indian External Affairs Ministry has expressed deep concern in a statement and asked China to desist from provocative action.

"Bhutan government had issued a statement yesterday in which it made it clear that the land in question belonged to Bhutan. It is located near India's land. There is an arrangement between India and Bhutan for giving security," Jaitley told news channel Aaj Tak.

While the escalation is said to have begun in mid-June, Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat’s public statement that his troops were capable of fighting at ‘two and a half fronts’ (Pakistan, China and militants in Kashmir) worsened the already tense situation. China had described the statement as ‘irresponsible war mongering’ and asked India to draw lessons from history, a not-so-oblique allusion to the debacle suffered by the Indian Army in 1962. Jaitley’s rejoinder was in response to this.

Bhutan, which finds itself caught between the Dragon and the Elephant, does not have diplomatic relations with China although the two countries did sign an agreement in 1998 to sort out border disputes without resorting to violence. On the other hand, the tiny Himalayan kingdom has a treaty with India under which New Delhi looks after Bhutan’s security.

While a fall out of the escalation has been China refusing to allow Indian pilgrims to use the Nathu La pass to visit Kailash Mansarovar, there is rising concern in New Delhi over the stalemate. The trijunction at the border is close to the narrow strip known as the Chicken’s neck, which connects the North-East to the rest of India. A lifeline to the North-East, the corridor is strategically important because Indian troops in the North-East depends on it for supplies.

China has demanded that India first withdraw its troops from the area before a dialogue can take place.

PTI meanwhile reported from Beijing: China has released a map to back its claim that Indian troops "transgressed" into the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector, which it claims as part of its territory.

In the map, released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, a blue arrow with markings in Chinese points Indian troops alleged transgression into the area to prevent the PLA troops from building a strategic road. The map shows Doklam as part of Chinese territory.

Bhutan has protested to China asserting that the area is part of its territory and Chinese action is violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements.

The map is in addition to two photographs released on Thursday purportedly showing Indian troops on the Chinese side of the border. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang displayed the photographs of the alleged Indian "incursion" into the area during a media briefing.

Later, the ministry uploaded them on its website. One photo showed two bulldozers stated to be that of the Indian military while another showed one bulldozer. A redline in the photos was showed as "Chinese side of the border".