New Delhi: The Indian Army is ready for a long haul in holding on to its position in the Doklam area near the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction, notwithstanding China stepping up its rhetoric against India demanding pulling back of its troops.

The Indian soldiers deployed in the disputed area have pitched in tents, in an indication that they are unlikely to retreat unless there is reciprocity from China’s PLA personnel in ending the face-off at an altitude of around 10,000 feet in the Sikkim section.

A steady line of supplies is being maintained for the soldiers at the site, official sources were cited by news agencies as saying, signalling that the Indian Army is not going to wilt under pressure from China.

At the same time, they sounded confident of finding a diplomatic solution to the dispute, citing resolution of border skirmishes in the past through diplomacy. Though China has been aggressively asserting that it was not ready for any “compromise” and that the “ball is in India’s court”, the view in the security establishment here is that there cannot be any unilateral approach in defusing the tension.

The Indian Army had last month made its first-ever military intervention of sorts on behalf of Bhutan by physically blocking Chinese troops from constructing a road in the Bhutanese “Doklam area” border territory near Indian border defences.

“On 16 June, a PLA construction party entered the Doklam area and attempted to construct a road. It is our understanding that a Royal Bhutan Army patrol attempted to dissuade them from this unilateral activity. The Ambassador of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) has publicly stated that it lodged a protest with the Chinese Government through their embassy in New Delhi on June 20,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier said.