Army Chief Bipin Rawat to visit Sikkim, meet commanders

General Rawat's visit to Sikkim comes amid tension between India and China over border issues.

New Delhi, June 28: Army chief General Bipin Rawat will visit Sikkim on Thursday to take stock of operational matters and meet with top army commanders at formation headquarters in the border state.

People familiar with the matter said that General Rawat's two-day visit to Sikkim is routine. He will visit other formation headquarters in the Northeast and review operational matters in the region that shares most of India's 3,488-kilometre-long border with China. India shares a 220-kilometre-long border with China in Sikkim.

China has accused Indian troops of "crossing the boundary" in the Sikkim sector and demanded their immediate withdrawal. China said it stop the Nathu La route for Indian pilgrims travelling to Kailash Mansarovar because of the border standoff.

China said it has lodged diplomatic protests with India, both in New Delhi and Beijing. Chinese Defence Ministry Spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said on Monday that recently China began building a road in Donglang region, but was stopped by Indian troops.

PTI