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 facing off at the border for the past month. Photo: AP

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

Mr. Lu's statement came as Beijing and New Delhi have been experiencing more than a month of tension, with both sides accusing each other's soldiers of invading each other's territory.

Despite meetings between senior officials from both countries, the situation shows no signs of cooling down. Officials from both countries are even discussing the possibility of a conflict even bloodier than the 1962 war that left thousands dead.

The Indian army on July 10 deployed 2,500 more soldiers to the Sikkim state area bordering China to enhance response capabilities in case of conflict between the two sides breaking out on the Doklam plateau.

This is believed to be a response to China deploying more 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 a live-fire attack exercise on an enemy position in Tibet, near the Indian border. The exercise also included tracking and targeting enemy aircraft.

China and India share a 3,550 km long border, separated by the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Two areas that remain flashpoints in bilateral relations today are Aksai Chin at the tri-border point of Pakistan, India and China, and Arunachal Pradesh, close to India's northeastern border.

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

Location of Doklam plateau. Graphics: BBC.

According to VNE