A month after hectic diplomatic parleys brought to an end the bitter standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops on the Bhutanese territory of Doklam, the two armies skipped their traditional border personnel meeting (BPM) at the five designated places along the 4,057-km long Line of Actual Control to mark China's 68th national day on Sunday, signaling no end to the chill between ties on the ground.
"The People's Liberation Army did not send us an invite for the ceremonial meeting 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," Times Of India quoted a source as saying.
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 held in China this month. "The exercise is unlikely this year," the source added.
According to the report, the two armies continued to maintain their stepped-up force levels near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction after troops disengaged from the standoff site at Doklam (or the Dolam plateau) on August 28 after 73 days of tense confrontation.
The face-off had seen both sides move forward additional infantry battalions as well as armoured (tanks), artillery, missile and air defence units in a show of strength to back their small number of troops on the actual standoff site.
The report cited a source as saying that though the PLA did halt construction of its motorable road through the standoff site towards the Jampheri Ridge, but it is maintaining its force-levels in the area.
It is anticipated that the situation will remain the same till the crucial party congress of the Chinese Communist Party from October 18 where Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to get his second five-year term.
There are seven to eight occasions a year that the two armies hold ceremonial meetings at the different BPM points, which include speeches, cultural performances, exchange of gifts and tea, as a confidencebuilding measure. The ceremonial meeting between troops of both sides, as has been custom, was one of them.
