Indian soldiers and their Chinese counterparts locked in tense face-off along the border in Sikkim
New Delhi: People’s Liberation Army soldiers had reportedly transgressed in the Doka La region at the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction and destroyed two Indian Army bunkers in Lalten area around 10 days. These soldiers are even locked in a tense face-off with their Indian counterparts along the border in Sikkim. The Chinese soldiers even stopped a batch of pilgrims headed for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
“There was some jostling and a scuffle between the rival troops. Our soldiers formed a human wall to deny the PLA troops from making further inroads,” a media report said. A flag meeting was subsequently held between senior Army officers from the two sides but the face-off could not be defused, with the rival troops maintaining their positions, added the report.
Earlier, the external affairs ministry had last week raised with China its refusal to allow entry to around 50 pilgrims headed for Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet through the Nathu La in Sikkim.
According to media reports, the Indian Army twice asked for a flag meeting with PLA to defuse the tension, with China finally agreeing to a meeting on June 20. It was then that China said it would not allow Indian pilgrims to cross over for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The pilgrims subsequently returned to Gangtok after waiting till June 23.
