India deploys more troops in Doka La in longest deadlock since 1962

New Delhi: In a bid to strengthen its position near Sikkim border, India has sent more Indian Army jawans to the sensitive Doka La area.

Both Indian Army and Chinese Army are in standoff for almost a month. The time interval of standoff is the longest such deadlock between the two armies since 1962.

Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) initiated agressive tactics by destroying two Indian bunkers which forced India push in more troops in the area, said sources.

Earlier, Beijing had asked New Delhi to withdraw troops, reiterating it as a precondition to settle an ongoing stand-off in India’s Sikkim sector, where the two countries share a little over 200 km of border.

Following the face-off, China has suspended the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet where Indians travel via Nathu La Pass, which is shut now.

In response, India on Friday said it has told China that the building of a road by Chinese troops in the Donglong region will have “serious security implications for India” and urged Beijing “not to change the status quo unilaterally”.

“India is deeply concerned at the recent Chinese actions and has conveyed to the Chinese government that such construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India,” an External Affairs Ministry statement said in New Delhi.

China also released a map showing the Donglong region in the Sikkim sector as its territory and to back its claims of Indian troops “trespassing” the Chinese boundary.

Also read: China releases ‘map’ to prove its claim over Donglong