No need to say too much on Doklam, says Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: Defence minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday refused to interpret the significance of the resolution of the China-India face-off at Doklam, saying it was a “sensitive” issue and that the government had already conveyed its position.

The external affairs ministry has already articulated the government’s stand on the issue, he told reporters at a briefing.

“Given the sensitivity of the issue, there is no need to make multiple statements,” Mr Jaitley said when asked whether the resolution of the Doklam standoff was a big achievement for India.

Troops of the two countries had been locked in a standoff in Doklam since June 16 after Indian Army personnel stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the disputed area.

Sources have confirmed to this newspaper that there were standing instructions from the government that only the external affairs ministry would be giving statements on the recently-ended Doklam incident even as there was a daily barrage of belligerent statements emanating from various organs of the Chinese government including the state-controlled media.

On August 28, the MEA had announced that both the countries agreed to an “expeditious disengagement” at the face-off site following diplomatic communications.

Asked about the recent stand-off between Indian and Chinese forces in Dokalam and Ladakh, Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, who will demit office on Thursday, said, “Standoff like situation in Ladakh keep happening. There was no extra ordinary situation.”