12-13-2007, 07:40 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Army moves troops to India-China border </b>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
... after Chinese intrusions in Bhutan
The Army, in the backdrop of reported intrusions by Chinese forces in Bhutan, has moved more than 6,000 troops to the Sino-Indian border, close to the tri-junction of India, Bhutan and China. Army officials, however, described the movement from Jammu and Kashmir as a "routine retreat of troops to their original locations."
The shifting of Army formations north of Nathu La comes in the wake of reports of Chinese troops coming close to the Siliguri corridor. But Army authorities brushed it aside, saying Chinese forces have been coming close to the Dolam Plateau for over two decades as the boundary in the area was still to be defined.
Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said here on Thursday the intrusions by the Chinese forces in Bhutan was a diplomatic matter and it was a matter between the two neighbouring countries.
Elaborating upon the movement of troops, officials said the forces being moved were all formations of the Kalimpong-based Army's 27 Mountain Division. These formations were mobilised during Operation Parakaram in 2001.
According to Army sources, an entire brigade of the 27 Division and an additional battalion had been moved back over a period of three-four months, as situation in Jammu and Kashmir had 'stabilised'.
When asked whether the Army was concerned about reported intrusions of Chinese army in Bhutan, General Kapoor, speaking on the sidelines of a seminar jointly organised by the Defence Ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industries(CII) here, said it was a matter between Bhutan and China to solve.
<b>"It is a matter between Bhutan and China to resolve. So, that is an issue at diplomatic level. I have nothing to say," he said. </b>
Incidentally, India and China were all set to undertake the first-ever joint Army exercise focusing on counter terrorism next week in Yunnan province of China.
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Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
... after Chinese intrusions in Bhutan
The Army, in the backdrop of reported intrusions by Chinese forces in Bhutan, has moved more than 6,000 troops to the Sino-Indian border, close to the tri-junction of India, Bhutan and China. Army officials, however, described the movement from Jammu and Kashmir as a "routine retreat of troops to their original locations."
The shifting of Army formations north of Nathu La comes in the wake of reports of Chinese troops coming close to the Siliguri corridor. But Army authorities brushed it aside, saying Chinese forces have been coming close to the Dolam Plateau for over two decades as the boundary in the area was still to be defined.
Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said here on Thursday the intrusions by the Chinese forces in Bhutan was a diplomatic matter and it was a matter between the two neighbouring countries.
Elaborating upon the movement of troops, officials said the forces being moved were all formations of the Kalimpong-based Army's 27 Mountain Division. These formations were mobilised during Operation Parakaram in 2001.
According to Army sources, an entire brigade of the 27 Division and an additional battalion had been moved back over a period of three-four months, as situation in Jammu and Kashmir had 'stabilised'.
When asked whether the Army was concerned about reported intrusions of Chinese army in Bhutan, General Kapoor, speaking on the sidelines of a seminar jointly organised by the Defence Ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industries(CII) here, said it was a matter between Bhutan and China to solve.
<b>"It is a matter between Bhutan and China to resolve. So, that is an issue at diplomatic level. I have nothing to say," he said. </b>
Incidentally, India and China were all set to undertake the first-ever joint Army exercise focusing on counter terrorism next week in Yunnan province of China.
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