New York: Amid the ongoing border dispute between the Indian and Chinese troops at Dokhlam, a US expert has said that the row could lead to a war.
Jeff M. Smith, a scholar at the American Foreign Policy Council, told the New York Times that both sides have taken hardline positions that make it difficult to back down.
“Yes I do, and I don’t say that lightly,” Smith said when asked whether he thought the India-China stand-off could spiral into war.
Dokhlam holds strategic importance for China, India and Bhutan because it forms the tri-junction.
Since June, the two countries are involved in the border row after the Indian Army stopped a road construction by Chinese troops in Doklam. Despite China’s repeated calls to withdraw troops from Doklam, Delhi has said that troops from both sides should withdraw for a dialogue as Doklam belongs to its ally Bhutan.
Referring to the countries’ 1962 war that was also over border disputes, Smith said, “The messaging is eerily similar.”
