Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a major stand off, after negibouring troops entered India in the Sikkim sector and jostled with Indian Army personnel guarding the Sino-India frontier. Two bunkers of the Indian Army were also destroyed in Lalten area of Doka La, PTI reported today.
The face-off has been going on in Doka La general area in Sikkim for the past ten days. Indian soldiers according to the PTI report, “formed a human wall along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)” to block the Chinese troops from progressing further into the region. A flag meeting was also held between senior army officers of both the sides on June 20, but the tension still continues. It is not the first time that such a transgression has happened at the Doka La, a place at the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction.
The latest report of transgression came days after China refused entry to Indian pilgrims who were scheduled to travel to Kailash Mansarovar through the Nathu La pass in Sikkim.China on Monday said both governments were in touch over the matter. It was reported that China had blocked the way stating apprehensions over the safety of the pilgrims due to landslides. China allegedly said they could not transport the pilgrims in buses on its side of the border.
Earlier, China agreed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s request to let Indians access the mountain, considered the abode of Lord Shiva, through Sikkim, which is a relatively easier route than through a pass in Uttarakhand. The pilgrims were kept waiting for nearly a week at the border after which they returned to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.
