Centre says China to drop road plan for troops pullout

India will withdraw its soldiers from Doklam Plateau of Bhutan only if China does the same to restore status quo, the government told Opposition leaders here on Friday.

The government, however, said it would continue its diplomatic efforts to resolve the face-off with China. The Opposition parties conveyed “strong support” to the government’s approach of dealing with the situation through diplomatic channels. They also underlined the “need for national unity”.

New Delhi conveyed to Beijing that Chinese People’s Liberation Army must drop its plan to build a road in Doklam Plateau and withdraw its personnel from the area, sources quoted senior ministers who briefed the Opposition leaders.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Home Minister Rajnath Singh took the Opposition leaders into confidence on the current India-China military face-off in western Bhutan.

“Importance of India and China remaining engaged through diplomacy was underlined. There was widespread appreciation of the Astana understanding between India and China that differences between them should not become disputes,” Gopal Baglay, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said. 

“National security has always been a priority for the Congress. We advised them (the government) to deal with the situation diplomatically. We are rising above politics in national interest,” Anand Sharma of the Congress told mediapersons after the meeting. 

The government invited the leaders of the Opposition parties and some allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to the briefing ahead of Parliament's monsoon session commencing on Monday.

China's PLA soldiers and construction personnel came to Doklam Plateau along the disputed Sino-Bhutan boundary on June 16 and started building a motorable road, brushing aside protests by Royal Bhutanese Army personnel deployed in a nearby camp. Indian Army personnel from Doka La camp went to the spot on June 18 and stopped the PLA personnel from constructing the road.

Indian Army intervened as the road would have posed a serious security risk to Siliguri Corridor the link between north-eastern states of India and the rest of the country.