Sikkim standoff News

In a stunning -but unsubstantiated- claim, a senior Chinese official said today that Bhutan has acknowledged that the Doklam area where the Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a standoff does not belong to it.

India on Thursday said it continues to engage with China diplomatically and has been coordinating with Bhutan to find a mutually-acceptable solution to a standoff between the two nations in the Dokalam area in the Sikkim sector.

Twenty-seven of the 73 roads approved along the India-China border have been completed and the rest are expected to be finished by end of 2022, the government said on Friday.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay, while replaying to a question about Doval's schedule in Beijing, had last week said that if there are any further developments in his programme then the media will be informed.

The comment was made by The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party media group, which generally reflects the views of the ruling party. 

China said on Thursday that diplomatic channels with India remained "unimpeded" to discuss the military standoff in Sikkim sector but reiterated that the withdrawal of the Indian troops from Doklam area is a "precondition" for any meaningful dialogue.

The US has expressed concern over the ongoing standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Sikkim sector and said the two countries should work together to come up with "some sort of arrangement" for peace.

The government has called an all-party meet on Friday on the stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops along the border, government sources said on Thursday.

The remarks come amid a standoff between the militaries of India and China in the Doklam area in the Sikkim sector, where Indian troops stopped road construction by Chinese soldiers.  

Besides testing the new equipment, the exercises involve conducting live firing exercises.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat will start his two-day northeast visit from Sikkim on Thursday.