"...The confrontation began June 16, when Indian troops stopped the Chinese from building a road in the disputed area.
Earlier, Chinese construction trucks, guarded by soldiers, had entered Doklam near the strategic “tri-junction,” where Bhutan, China, and India meet. The area is just north of the “chicken’s neck,” a narrow corridor of Indian territory connecting the main portion of the country to its northeast.
India and Bhutan maintain the disputed area belongs to Bhutan while China claims it as its own.
At the moment, Chinese and Indian troops are 120 meters apart, a “civil distance.”
The situation, according to the South China Morning Post, is the “most serious confrontation between the nations in over 30 years.”
Why did Beijing choose to create a provocation at this time? “The Chinese are making their unhappiness clear on India and America’s relationship,”said Sameer Patil of Gateway House, an Indian think tank, to the Washington Post. Apparently, the Chinese decided to begin road construction—in other words, start another cycle of provocation—when they learned of Modi’s visit to Washington.
Modi visited the White House on June 26, and there he bear-hugged President Trump, who had extended an especially warm welcome. Trump during the talks had set aside trade and immigration irritants so that he could continue Bush and Obama policy to strengthen links between the world’s most populous democracy and its most powerful one. “The relationship between India and the United States has never been stronger, has never been better,” Trump said in the Rose Garden as he accurately described ties.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2017/07/09/chinese-troops-probe-india-this-could-be-chinas-next-war/#388b80d81b15