Foreign secy S Jaishankar holds talk with senior Bhutanese govt officials amid reports citing fresh Chinese troops deployment near Doklam

India's Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar who is on a visit to Bhutan held talks with senior government officials on Wednesday amid reports of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) deploying fresh troops near the highly strategic Doka La region.

The fresh citing of PLA troops in the strategic Doklam region comes weeks after the long drawn stand-off that ended following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Xiamen. 

The standoff began on June 16 after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road by the Chinese Army on June 16 in Doklam. On August 28, India’s External Affairs Ministry announced that both sides have decided on “expeditious disengagement” of their border troops from the disputed area.Days after the face-off ended, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had said China has started “flexing its muscles” and warned that the situation in India’s northern border could snowball into a larger conflict.

India had announced the disengagement of its troops from Dolkam on August 29 after a prolonged, 74-day standoff. Prime Minister Modi had met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the ninth Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa group summit on September 5. 

The sources said the top commanders are also likely to discuss the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The conference will be addressed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.