By CGTN's World Insight

Competing interests on a small stretch of territory between China and India could spell trouble for broader relations between the two countries, experts have warned.

Chinese troops and a group of Indian soldiers have been involved in a standoff on the Doklam plateau near the so-called tri-junction between China, India and Bhutan for around 20 days. China says Indian troops crossed into Chinese territory, but Delhi denies this.

one Chinese and one Indian standing guard at China-India border. /CFP Photo

“From the Indian point of view militarily, this is a very important piece of land,” Madhav Nalapat, director of the geopolitics and international relations department at India’s Manipal University, told CGTN’s The Point.

“If any military controls this territory, it can very easily break what India calls the chicken’s neck, that’s a very narrow area of land which links the entire northeast of India to the rest of India,” he said.

China's Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui expressed China’ s stance in an interview with the Press Trust of India. /CGTN Photo

Yang Xiyu, senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, however argued this was an “uncontroversial” piece of land between China and India, and Indian moves there “will open a very bad example for bilateral relations.”

De-escalation was now needed, he urged. “(Let’s) return to the situation before the latest incidents. Then we can discuss what is India’s concerns, or what is China’s interests.”

World Insight with Tian Wei is a 45-minute global affairs and debate show on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 10.15 p.m. BJT (1415GMT), with rebroadcasts at 4.15am BJT (2015GMT).