It has been almost a month since Chinese and Indian military began the current stand-off in Doka La, near the intersection of India, China and Bhutan. This kind of prolonged stand-off is not entirely new – the stand-off that took place in September 2014 during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India lasted close to a month despite the issue being raised at the highest level by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nevertheless, this time around, there is an increasing feeling that China’s calculation is different. There are thousands of Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Indian army troops present around the region, making the situation somewhat precarious, even if we assume that the political leadership in both countries is sufficiently mature to handle the crisis through diplomatic means. What is not clear is whether China wants to go the diplomatic route this time.