Doklam Impasse: Chinese diplomats tell foreign envoys troops running low on patience

It has been a month since troubles began in Doklam. Even as India has been contesting China's claim to the Bhutanese territory, Chinese diplomats are known to have told foreign officials stationed in China that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will wait patiently only for so long. These foreign diplomats, it is learnt, have conveyed this message to their Indian counterparts in  Beijing and to their Bhutanese colleagues in Delhi.

An Indian Express report quoting a diplomat from one of the P-5 permanent members of the UN Security Council countries, said: “Our colleagues in Beijing attended the briefing and were given the impression that the Chinese side will not be waiting for an indefinite period. This is quite worrying, and we have conveyed it to our Indian colleagues in Beijing and Bhutanese colleagues in Delhi.”

“They [Chinese diplomats] have told our colleagues in Beijing that the Indian side has trespassed into Chinese territory and changed the status quo,” the UN diplomat has told the newspaper.

Speaking to The Indian Express, sources further add that a few G-20 countries, whose diplomats are in Beijing, have also been fed the Chinese version of the events.

Doklam, which is located in the trijunction area between Bhutan, China and India, became a flash point after China began constructing a road there last month. Subsequently, India intervened and has been engaged in a standoff with the PLA ever since.

The Chinese claim Doklam belong to them, and has asked India to back down. However, according to a 2012 understanding between China and India, both the countries had agreed to bilaterally determine rights over Doklam in consultation with another country. Meanwhile, the Chinese have begun calling Doklam as Donglong.

“Any attempt, therefore, to unilaterally determine trijunction points is in violation of this understanding,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement.

New Delhi is believed to be involved in efforts in de-escalating the tension, tell government sources to the Indian Express.

The Chinese, however, say they aren't willing to sit down for a dialogue unless Indian troops pull back from the contested area.

The Chinese media have reported that India repeatedly violated border agreements in a way which infringed on China's sovereignty. An op-ed in the Chinese-state-run Global Times even spoke of “all-out confrontation” given the current circumstances.