PARAGRAPH AND WORDS, AND MEANING
Time for clarity: on Doklam stand-off :-
Five months after the government claimed the victory of “quiet diplomacy” to bring the 73-day stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam to an end, the contours of the actual agreement and events that have followed remain a mystery. On August 28, the Centre had issued a statement on a mutual decision for Indian and Chinese troops to disengage and withdraw from the part of the Doklam plateau disputed between China and Bhutan that had been the scene of the stand-off. A second statement from the Ministry of External Affairs the same day said the verification of the disengagement by both sides from the “face-off” point, which included the withdrawal of troops, road construction equipment and tents, was “almost complete”. However, last week the Army chief, General Bipin Rawat, said Chinese troops are in parts of Doklam they had hitherto not manned, and while the People’s Liberation Army infrastructure development was “temporary” in nature, “tents remain, observation posts remain” in the disputed area. The MEA, which had maintained that there was “no change” in the status quo, also appeared to shift position, saying that New Delhi was using “established mechanisms” to resolve misunderstandings over the Doklam issue. While discretion and quiet negotiations are useful, especially when sensitive matters along the India-China Line of Actual Control are being discussed, such divergence in public statements also fuels speculation that something deeper and more troubling exists on the ground. The government must verify if satellite photographs showing much more permanent infrastructure in north Doklam, not far from Indian posts, that are the subject of reports in the media, are accurate and whether they pose a new threat to India. Roiling matters further are the broader statements made in New Delhi last week. Speaking at the MEA’s annual Raisina Dialogue, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar put China’s rise first on a list of “major disruptors” in the region. General Rawat said that the “time has come” for India to “shift focus” from its western border with Pakistan to its northern border with China. This is bound to raise eyebrows given that the boundary with Pakistan has seen heavy shelling and rising military and civilian casualties in the past year. Similarly, Beijing’s latest belligerent statements that all of Doklam belongs to China and is under its “effective jurisdiction” could be indicators that the agreement announced in August is unravelling. If so, a Doklam-style troop build-up in the future must be avoided at all costs. It is imperative that the government proceed with caution in step and consistency in statement, and drop the ambiguity it has embraced since the Doklam stand-off began in June.
WORDS AND MEANING :-
Stand-off
Meaning: A deadlock between two equally matched opponents in a dispute or conflict.
Example: “The 16-day-old stand-off was no closer to being resolved”
Synonyms: Deadlock, Stalemate
Contours
Meaning: An outline representing or bounding the shape or form of something.
Example: “She traced the contours of his face with her finger”
Synonyms: Outline, Shape
Mystery
Meaning: Something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.
Example: “The mysteries of outer space”
Synonyms: Puzzle, Enigma
Disengage
Meaning: Separate or release (someone or something) from something to which they are attached or connected.
Example: “I disengaged his hand from mine”
Synonyms: Remove, Detach
Antonyms: Attach, Connect
Disputed
Meaning: Argue about (something).
Example: “The point has been much disputed”
Synonyms: Debate, Discuss
Face-off
Meaning: A direct confrontation between two people or groups.
Example: “Last night’s vice presidential face-off”
Hitherto
Meaning: Until now or until the point in time under discussion.
Example: “Hitherto part of French West Africa, Benin achieved independence in 1960”
Synonyms: Previously, Formerly
Status quo
Meaning: The existing state of affairs, especially regarding social or political issues.
Example: “They have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo”
Roiling
Meaning: Make (a liquid) turbid or muddy by disturbing the sediment.
Example: “Winds roil these waters”
Belligerent
Meaning: Hostile and aggressive.
Example: “The mood at the meeting was belligerent”
Synonyms: Hostile, Aggressive
Antonyms: Friendly, Peaceable
Unravelling
Meaning: Undo (twisted, knitted, or woven threads).
Example: “He cut the rope and started to unravel its strands”
Synonyms: Untangle, Disentangle
Antonyms: Entangle, Tangle
Ambiguity
Meaning: The quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.
Example: “We can detect no ambiguity in this section of the Act”
Synonyms: Ambivalence, Equivocation
Antonyms: Unambiguousness, Transparency
