evidence: China’s foreign ministry confirmed that Indian troops had withdrawn, but added that "Chinese troops would continue to patrol the disputed Doklam region," Reuters reported. Despite the ambiguity from Beijing, the Indian statement is the first real sign of a thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, who have been locked in a war of words after Chinese troops and road-building equipment entered the Dolkam plateau, an area claimed by Bhutan, on June 16. In response, India sent hundreds of troops into Doklam, which Beijing insisted was an incursion into its territory. [...] India and China have been engaged in a number of border disputes in recent years, but Doklam was different, partly because, this time, Bhutan was involved in the issue. India acts as a security guarantor for the small Himalayan kingdom, which does not maintain official diplomatic relations with China, and therefore, led the charge. Beijing, however, described this Indian intervention in the Doklam issue as "utterly unjustified."