New Delhi, June 28 (PTI): China has removed an old bunker of the Indian Army located at the tri-junction of India, China and Bhutan in Sikkim by using a bulldozer after the Indian side refused to accede to its request, according to official sources. The incident that broke out in the first week of June in Doka La general area in Sikkim had led to a face-off between the two forces, triggering tension in the Sikkim section of the India-China border, the sources said today. The forcible removal of the old bunker by using heavy machinery like a bulldozer came when the Indian side did not agree to a request by the Chinese authorities to dismantle it, the sources said. China is believed to have not taken kindly to India building many new bunkers and upgrading older ones along the border in Sikkim in the recent past to augment its defences against the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the sources said. Of the 3,488-km-long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220-km section falls in Sikkim. Beijing is also upset with New Delhi over the recent visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh, the sources said, adding they were also trying to escalate tension in the forward areas, including in Sikkim, even though the border in the northeastern state is demarcated. The Sikkim government has also sent a report to the central government giving details of the situation along the border following the stand-off in Doka La. Centre reviews Sikkim situation The situation along the Sino-Indian border was reviewed today at a high-level meeting convened by the Centre following tension in the forward areas in Sikkim after a scuffle between personnel of the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The meeting, attended by representatives of the Army and the Indo Tibetan Border Police, besides the home ministry, took stock of the border, particularly in Sikkim, officials said. After the scuffle, China stopped the travel of Indian pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar through the Nathu La border post in Sikkim. Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said 100 pilgrims were returned by China despite they having Chinese visa. Meanwhile, government officials described the incident in Sikkim as an attempt by China to open another front along the border. China today lodged a protest with India over the alleged "crossing of boundary" by its troops in the Sikkim sector and demanded their immediate withdrawal, as Beijing warned that future visits of Indian pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar will depend on the resolution of the standoff. The last such transgression had happened in Sikkim in November 2008 when Chinese soldiers destroyed some makeshift Indian Army bunkers there.
