'Keeping a close eye': India on images showing China building a full-fledged village near Doklam

New Delhi, July 22: After five years of the Doklam standoff between India and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) over the construction of a road near Bhutanese territory, there have been images surfaced on social media in which evidence of a fully inhabited village barely 9 km east of the previous flashpoint area has emerged.

 

 

According to NDTV report, the images of the village emerged on Tuesday that showed the new settlement is fully inhabited with cars parked at the doorstep of virtually every home.

 

 

It is pertinent to mention that the Doklam plateau is considered an important area for India's strategic interest. The Indian and Chinese armies were locked in a 73-day stand-off at the Doklam tri-junction after China tried to extend a road in the area that Bhutan claimed belonged to it.

 

Apart from that, China has been investing in border infrastructure at several sensitive locations including along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh where the Chinese PLA has been locked in an over two-year standoff with the Indian Army.

 

 

External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India takes all necessary measures to safeguard its security interests.

 

"I do not want to get into commenting on media reports. Let me make a broader point, particularly in the context of Doklam that please be assured that the government keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India's security and takes all necessary measures to safeguard the same," he said.