Two days after Nirmala said China built helipads in Doklam, MEA retracts

Two days after the Ministry of Defence informed the Rajya Sabha that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China built helipads, trenches and sentry posts in Doklam, the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday stated that status quo prevailed in the area of the 2017 face-off between the soldiers of the two neighbouring nations.

"Since the disengagement of Indian and Chinese border personnel in the Doklam area on August 28, 2017, there have been no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity. The status quo prevails in this area," V K Singh, Minister of State (External Affairs), said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

His reply came just two days after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha that China's PLA had built sentry posts, trenches and helipads in Doklam.

The Indian Army and Chinese PLA had a face-off in Doklam Plateau in western Bhutan from June 18 to August 28, 2017. It ended with both sides withdrawing troops on August 28, 2017. 

"Post disengagement from the face-off in 2017, the troops of both sides have redeployed themselves away from their respective positions at the site. The strengths of both sides have been reduced. In order to maintain these troops during winter, the PLA has undertaken construction of some infrastructure, including sentry posts, trenches and helipads," Nirmala said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.