By trespassing into Chinese territory and interfering in Bhutan’s border issue with China, India has flouted international law and international norms.

India and China agrees to disengage their troops in Doklam.

As the standoff between Chinese and Indian troops over a disputed border in the Himalayas enters its second month, the world is asking: who does this contested area truly belong true? By examining existing evidence, we can find an answer and begin on the road to peace.

There has always been tension between China and India, but the recent standoff between troops of both armies at the border of Tibet, Bhutan, and Sikkim has only added fuel to the fire. Now, through the use of psychological warfare in addition to various other strategies, China hopes to intimidate India into backing down.

The standoff between Chinese and Indian soldiers on a remote Himalayan plateau entered well into its 2nd month. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesmen delivered one strong wording statement after another, calling for the withdrawal of the Indian troops and warning against miscalculations and unrealistic illusions of the Indian side.

Almost a month after Indian troops entered Chinese territory, China has remained restrained and tolerant has fully demonstrated its sincerity for preserving Chinese-Indian friendship. As long as our side stays reasonable, restrained and proceeds from our best interests as well as concern about friendly bilateral ties, it is possible to narrow our differences, resolve our disputes.

The Modi government must reflect on the political drivers that have incited China to construct a road of marginal military value against a charged political backdrop. Hard as it might appear on surface to comprehend, the standoff is only secondarily about territory; principally, it is about the politics of the bilateral relationship.

Since reform and opening up, Chinese academia has focused its research on China-US relations: In both economic and scientific fields, China is chasing after the US and India is chasing after China. We must not forget about those who are after us by setting our eyes only on those ahead.

The US-India relationship has been burdened by mutual misgivings as of late. In Washington summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump displayed a comfortable chemistry, with no real discord to be seen – a departure from some of Trump’s other early diplomatic forays.

Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff in Doka La – where the borders of Bhutan, China and India meet – for almost a month now, the longest such impasse between the two armies since 1962. And India is far from the only country that has been humiliated at the hands of China.