Indian and Chinese troops have prepared for long haul at Doklam. File

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 10

As Indian and Chinese troops dig in for a long haul at the 10,000-ft-high Doklam plateau in Bhutan, defence experts say the resolution of past such standoffs was possible only after forces of both sides carried out simultaneous withdrawal from disputed areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).An agreement to withdraw forces simultaneously from the disputed site was the only option left to defuse the crisis, said a top functionary. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The area is disputed at the tri-junction of India, China and Bhutan and as per existing agreements, tri-junctions cannot be disturbed till all three parties agree. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, all three standoffs in Ladakh and the one in Anjaw (Arunachal Pradesh) were resolved through simultaneous withdrawal of troops. In the past three decades, peace treaties have kept sanity along the 3,488-km LAC. There have been a series of agreements that dictate the conduct of soldiers and also how a high-powered committee with members of both sides would sort out matters.Each year, troops of either side come face to face many times while patrolling along disputed areas. As per an agreement inked in 2005, troops are supposed to back off from the positions of patrolling. This is done after troops of either side show a banner asking the other to back off as per the “protocol on modalities for implementation of confidence-building measures in the military field along the LAC”. The mandate of the agreement is: “Throughout the face-to-face situation, neither side shall use force or threaten to use force against the other.” It also calls upon both the sides to stop their activities in the area and not advance any further. They have to return to their respective bases after the banner drill. It is only after this mechanism fails and troops don’t withdraw that the situation is called a standoff, as in the present case.