Status quo in Doklam restored as it existed prior to standoff: Sources

As India and China agreed to end their over two-month-long standoff in the Doklam, status quo in the region has been restored as it existed 2 months ago prior to the standoff, official sources informed ANI on Monday.

The sources said that all roads building equipment in the region has been withdrawn by Chinese side including bulldozers, tents and construction equipment.

"It was a triumph of diplomacy as both India & China, being great powers, agreed to settle this issue through dialogue & discussion," sources told ANI.

According to sources, India stood firm on its ground which made clear to China that there would be no backing down on this issue and hence New Delhi reached a settlement on Monday.

It is pertinent to mention here that all embassies wanted to brief India on which way things were going between the two sides on the standoff issue but India made it clear that it was something which it would handle on its own without help or interference from other countries.

Earlier in the day, India and China agreed to end their over two-month-long stand-off in the Doklam Plateau by reaching an understanding not to let their long standing differences become disputes.

"In recent weeks, India and China have maintained diplomatic communication in respect of the incident at Doklam. During these communications, we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The ministry further said," On the basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is ongoing."

India -China standoff at Doklam, near the Sikkim-Tibet-Bhutan trijunction had been going on for more than two months and the situation arose after China started constructing a road in the area. India objected to the road construction after the Chinese troops ignored Bhutanese protests, triggering a face-off on June 16.

Earlier, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reiterated that India's road map is peace and talks are going on to resolve the issue diplomatically.

India has made its stance clear that that it stands for peace the border question can be solved diplomatically, not by war.

The agreement to disengage in Doklam comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to China for the BRICS summit.