China on Thursday hinted at maintaining sizable presence of its troops near the area of Doklam standoff during winter, asserting that the region is in Chinese territory.
India and China resolved the 73-day standoff on August 28 at Dokalam area after the People’s liberation Army (PlA) stopped building a strategic road close to India’s narrow Chicken Neck area connecting to North-Eastern States. Bhutan also claims Doklam to be its part.
India objected to the road building by the PlA, saying that it endangered the security of the narrow corridor. According to official accounts, both China and India in the past used to withdraw troops from the advanced regions of that area during the winter which is harsh.
“Donglong (Doklam) is Chinese territory,” Col Wu Qian, spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Defence said on Friday when asked about reports that PlA continue to maintain sizable number of troops close to the Dokalam standoff area and doing away with the practice of vacating the place during winter.
“Based on this principle we will decide on the deployment of troops on our own,” he said without elaborating. The continued presence of Chinese troops near Yatung close to Doklam reportedly prompted India too to maintain its troops presence there.