Indian Army deploys additional troops along China border amid Sikkim standoff: Reports
Several units deployed in Arunachal Pradesh are believed to have been placed under the ‘No War No Peace’ mode.
The Indian Army has increased its troops along the eastern border with China in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh amid the ongoing Doklam standoff, Reuters reported on Saturday. The military alert has been raised as “a matter of caution”, the news agency quoted unidentified officials as saying.
In Arunachal Pradesh, several units of the 3 Corps headquartered in Dimapur and 4 Corps in Tezpur have been placed under the “No War No Peace” mode, The Indian Express reported. The Army has also reportedly ordered that no convoys of military trucks be allowed to pass through the area to avoid sending out a wrong signal to China.
However, some reports claimed that the troop level was enhanced as part of the annual exercise in high altitude area. The training was rescheduled from September to now to let the soldiers complete the weather acclimatisation process, according to ANI.On Friday, a flag meeting between major-general rank officers from the Indian and the Chinese Army was held at the Nathu La border in Sikkim, The Times of India reported. But it failed to reach a resolution, as China demanded that India withdraw its troops from Doklam.
Conducted in Sept, but has been re-scheduled; it is to acclimatize soldiers from plain areas with forward locations of high altitude-Sources
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2017
The Sikkim standoff
India and China are currently locked in a diplomatic standoff. Both nations have maintained that troops from the other country had transgressed into their territory in the Sikkim sector’s Doklam area.
Bilateral ties have been strained since the Indian Army stopped China from constructing a road in the region. New Delhi has made it clear that it will not allow China to construct a motorable road up to the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction through the Doklam plateau.
