Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying’s in the Regular Press Conference answering to a question on the standoff having come to an end stated, ” At about 2:30 p.m. of August 28, the Indian side withdrew all its border personnel and equipment that were illegally on the Chinese territory to the Indian side. The Chinese personnel onsite have verified this situation. China will continue fulfilling its sovereign rights to safeguard territorial sovereignty in compliance with the stipulations of the border-related historical treaty. The Chinese government attaches importance to developing good neighborly and friendly relations with India. We hope that India could earnestly honor the border-related historical treaty as well as the basic principles of international law and work with China to preserve peace and stability in the border area and promote the sound development of bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect for each other’s territorial sovereignty.I am pleased to confirm that the Indian border personnel and equipment have all been withdrawn to the Indian side of the border.”
With the BRICS Summit knocking at the door, this came as an expected move and not a surprise. With China all set to host the summit , the million dollar question was will Modi attend or will he not. Not wanting the BRICS to stumble China probably put a step forth to bring about this disengagement. The BRICS summit – involving leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – in the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen from September 3-5 will now smoothen the track for Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and give both of them a chance for some behind-the-scenes interaction with Doklam’s shadow not looming large. Meanwhile India has proved that it is a friend in need to its friendly neighbours and will remain a friend indeed.