Bhutan–China border

Bhutan on Aug. 29 welcomed moves by India and China to withdraw troops from a strategic area which it claims as its territory, ending a months-long military stand-off between its giant neighbors.

The tiny Himalayan country of fewer than a million people had been caught in the middle of what some analysts called the worst crisis in India-China relations in decades.

India and China have agreed to pull back their troops from a face-off in the high Himalayas where China, India and Bhutan meet, signaling a thaw in their months-long standoff, India's government said on Aug. 28.

India's Ministry of External Affairs said India and China have had diplomatic exchanges in recent weeks over the situation on Doklam plateau in the eastern Himalayas.

Amid Doklam standoff, the Chinese Navy has invited the Indian Navy to join hands with the former in order to strengthen security of the Indian Ocean.

Indian and Chinese military forces are reported to be preparing for the possibility of an armed conflict over a disputed area in the Himalayas should a peaceful solution not be found.

A combative Indian defense expert who accused Beijing of running bellicose news stories against Delhi drew a strong response from his Chinese TV show counterpart, who said Indian troops must leave the contested Doklam area if they do not want war.

A border standoff between Chinese and Indian troops on a remote Himalayan plateau has heightened long-standing tensions while ensnaring a tiny kingdom, Bhutan, between the two nuclear-armed powers.

The row has festered for more than a month as India and China refuse to back down in the distant but strategically key territory, reflecting the historic mistrust between the Asian giants.

China warned on July 24 that it will step up its troop deployment in a border dispute with India, vowing to defend its sovereignty at "whatever cost."

The standoff started more than a month ago after Chinese troops started building a road on a remote plateau, which is disputed by China and Bhutan.