Dokalam stand-off: US urges India, China to engage in direct dialogue to reduce tensions

China and India have been engaged in the standoff in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction since last month.
Washington: Amid the ongoing standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at the Dokalam area, the US has urged the Asian giants to work together come up with some sort of arrangement for peace.
Addressing a news conference, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said, “I know that the US is concerned about the ongoing situation there.
While responding to questions on India-China border standoff in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction Nauert said, “We believe that both parties, both sides should work together to try to come up with some better sort of arrangement for peace.”
“We encourage India and China to engage in a direct dialogue aimed at reducing tensions,” a State Department official told PTI on Tuesday.
US’ reaction comes after Beijing on Tuesday told New Delhi to withdraw its troops from the disputed border at Doklam as a Chinese newspaper warned that Beijing was battle ready and not afraid to go to war with India in an “all-out confrontation”.
India should not use “trespass” into the Dokalam area in the Sikkim sector as a “policy tool” to achieve its “political targets”, China said, asking New Delhi to immediately withdraw its troops to avoid any escalation.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Tuesday briefed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on the Doklam stand-off and said that China has been unusually aggressive but India is trying to resolve the issue diplomatically and peacefully.
China and India have been engaged in the standoff in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction since last month after a Chinese Army’s construction party attempted to build a road. Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.
India has said Beijing’s action to “unilaterally determine tri-junction points” violated a 2012 India-China pact which says the boundary would be decided by consulting all the concerned parties.
The Indian Army is ready for a long haul in holding onto its position in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction, notwithstanding China ratcheting up rhetoric against India demanding pulling back of its troops.
The Indian soldiers deployed in the disputed area have pitched in tents, in an indication that they are unlikely to retreat unless there was reciprocity from China’s PLA personnel in ending the face-off at an altitude of around 10,000 feet in the Sikkim section.
A steady line of supplies is being maintained for the soldiers at the site, official sources said, signalling that Indian Army is not going to wilt under any pressure from China.