Nirmala Sitharaman to review situation along China border in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim on 7, 8 Oct

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman plans to visit Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday and Sunday and review the situation along India’s border with China in those states. “The defence minister is scheduled to visit to border states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, where she will take stock on the prevailing security situation, especially after the Dokalam face-off. During the visit, she will be briefed by top commanders of the Eastern command on the defence preparedness (sic),” The New Indian Express quoted an official as saying. [caption id=“attachment_4115123” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. AFP[/caption] According to India Today, the army is also likely to brief the defence minister about its preparations to prevent China’s attempts at incursion into Indian territory where the boundary is not demarcated and both countries have different claim lines. China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the 73-day-long Doka La standoff, in an indication that the border tension between Chinese and India armies has not yet subsided. Sources had told PTI that China has been slowly increasing its troop level in Doka La which could further escalate the current situation as India has reasons to be concerned over it. The indication to the underlying tension due to presence of Chinese forces in the Chumbi Valley in Doka La was also given by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Thursday. “The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over,” Dhanoa had told reporters. There has been territorial disputes between China and Bhutan over Dokalam and India has been staunchly supporting Thimphu over the issue. Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Dokalam since 16 June after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Dokalam. Bhutan and India were in touch with each other during the course of the face-off that ended on 28 August. Days after the face-off ended, army chief Bipin Rawat had said China has started “flexing its muscles” and warned that the situation in India’s northern border could snowball into a larger conflict. With inputs from PTI