India warns China against unilateral bid in northeast

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI, India (AA) - External affairs minister on Thursday warned China against any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in its northeast Sikkim state where a month-long standoff between the troops of both sides continues.

The Chinese-Indian border is 3,500-kilometer (around 2175-mile) long, of which the border with Sikkim is just 220 kilometers (136 miles). This stretch of land has remained tense since the 1960s with occasional skirmishes reported on both sides.

Recently, relations between China and India soured further over the tri-junction border region between India, China and Bhutan.

Indian troops have been stationed at the Donglong border, near its mountainous Sikkim state, for more than a month, which is the longest stand-off between the two neighbors since a war they fought in 1962.

China has accused India of obstructing the construction of a road, which India claims lays in its territory.

Speaking before the upper house of parliament, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said: “If China unilaterally changes the status quo of a tri-junction point between China, India and Bhutan, then it poses a challenge to our security.

"Over the years, China has been trying to get closer and closer to where the tri-junction point ends. It has done things like repair roads, re-tar them and things like that," Swaraj said.

“This time though, they came with bulldozers and construction equipment with the aim of breaching the point where the tri-junction ends. That is a threat to our security.”

She hinted that India favors dialogue to resolve the dispute.

“We are willing to talk, but both sides should take back their armies to the original position. All countries are supporting us on this issue," she said.

Indian defense and security experts say Sikkim is a small state, but it has strategic importance to both countries because of its location.

“India is vulnerable in that area and that is why China wants to increase their presence in that particular area,” said Sameet Patil, an analyst with a Mumbai-based think-tank.