NEW DELHI: The Indian and Chinese armies may have cut off from their eyeball-to-eyeball conflicts on the Bhutanese territory of Doklam after diplomatic discussion, but the discrete chill between the rival group remains on the ground over a month later.
The two armies did not hold their traditional border personnel gathering (BPM) at the five selected places along the 4,057-km long Line of Actual Control to mark China's 68th national day on Sunday, as is the norm every year.
"The People's Liberation Army did not invite for the ceremonial gathering at the five BPM points (Daulat Beg Oldi and Chushul in Ladakh, Bum La and Kibithu in Arunachal, and Nathu La in Sikkim) on October 1," said a source.
There has also been "no forward movement" on the 7th edition of the annual 'Hand-in-Hand' exercise between the Indian Army and the PLA, which was to be detained in China this month. "The exercise is unlikely this year," the source further added.
Sources said the two armies sustained to maintain their stepped-up force levels near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction after troops cut off from the confrontation site at Doklam (or the Dolam plateau) on August 28 after 73 days of tense war of words.
The face-off had seen both sides move forward additional infantry battalions as well as armored (tanks), artillery, missile and air defense units in a show of power to back their small number of troops on the actual confrontation site.
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