China demands India 'immediately withdraw troops crossing the border'.

China has demanded that India immediately withdraw its troops from the disputed border area to avoid escalating tensions between the two countries.

Chinese and Indian troops have been in a standoff for the past month at the border. Photo: AP

"We have stated many times that China hopes India understands the situation and immediately withdraws the soldiers who illegally crossed the border back to India's side," AP quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang as saying today.

Lu's statement comes amid more than a month of tension between Beijing and New Delhi, with both sides accusing each other's soldiers of encroaching on each other's territory.

Despite high-level official talks between the two countries, the situation shows no signs of de-escalation. Officials from both sides are even discussing the possibility of a conflict even bloodier than the 1962 war, which killed thousands of people.

On July 10, the Indian Army deployed an additional 2,500 soldiers to the Sikkim region bordering China to bolster its response capabilities should a conflict erupt between the two sides in the Doklam plateau.

This is believed to be a reaction to China's deployment of additional troops to Khamba Dzong and areas near the Chumbi Valley, located between India's Sikkim and Bhutan.

Meanwhile, a Chinese brigade equipped with rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, and mortars recently conducted live-fire exercises targeting an enemy position in Tibet, near the Indian border. The exercises also included tracking and engaging enemy aircraft.

China and India share a 3,550-kilometer border, separated by the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Two areas that remain flashpoints in bilateral relations today are Aksai Chin, at the intersection of the borders of Pakistan, India, and China, and Arunachal Pradesh, near India's northeastern border.

Aksai Chin is currently under Chinese administration, but India considers it its own. Conversely, Arunachal Pradesh is an Indian state, but China considers it part of Tibet and demands its return from India.

Location of Doklam plateau. Graphic: BBC.

According to VNE