In a war over Doklam, why China will likely be the eventual loser

An idecisive war will puncture China's unbending and all-accomplishing image so assiduously built up

On June 16, it became public information that Indian troops had entered the Doklam region near the Chumbi Valley tri-junction area wedged between Bhutan, India and Tibet/China, and stopped a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) construction crew from completing the hard-surfacing of an earlier dirt track. The Doklam plateau is one of the disputed territories between Bhutan and China. It is closely opposite Sikkim and slightly north of the narrow Siliguri corridor connecting the mainland territory of India to its seven northeastern states and region.

Bhutan and China do not have formal diplomatic relations. Despite