Top Sino-Indian diplomats meet amid Doklam standoff

Beijing, (Hindustan Times), 27 July 2017 -   India’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi discussed “major problems” in bilateral relations during a meeting in Beijing on Thursday, the first substantial contact since the two sides became engaged in a military standoff in Doklam (Donglang) area near the Sikkim border in mid-June.   

Details of their discussions were not immediately available but a brief readout from the Chinese side said Yang brought up “bilateral issues” and “major problems” during the meeting.   Doval is in Beijing to attend a two-day BRICS security summit but the focus has been on his bilateral interactions with the Chinese leadership against the backdrop of the standoff and intense speculation on whether the two sides would begin a conversation to ease tensions, if not resolve the impasse.Earlier, there was a question mark on whether Doval and Yang would have a one-on-one meeting given that China had set the withdrawal of Indian troops from Donglang as a precondition for a “meaningful dialogue” on the standoff.