Foreign minister S. Jaishankar is understood to have cautioned the Sikkim government against being lulled by the apparent calm at the border that the state shares with China.
“The foreign minister gave a presentation in yesterday’s (Friday’s) meeting...He said there is no conflict in any of the border areas of Sikkim now. It is very normal, but the situation could change tomorrow given China’s intention,” ruling SKM spokesperson Jacob Khaling told newspersons about Friday’s all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sikkim chief minister P. S. Tamang (Golay) also participated in the meeting on Friday convened in the backdrop of the India-China stand-off in Ladakh that killed 20 Indian soldiers.
The message sought to be conveyed to Sikkim at the meeting, Khaling said, was for the state to remain mentally prepared to face any eventuality since it shared a long border — 220km — with China.
Golay is understood to have asserted during the meeting that the government and the people of Sikkim would do whatever is asked of them for India’s defence.
“At this hour, the government and the entire people of Sikkim are one with the country...” Khaling quoted Golay as having said in the meeting.
“Sikkim will always support any decision taken by the Union government in consultation with all concerned,” Khaling quoted Golay.
Though the government is claiming “calm” along the India-China border in Sikkim, some sources have said that the Chinese forces are building their presence along northern and southern Sikkim over the last few days.
He said Golay also assured help in augmenting security infrastructure in border areas, facilitating the easy movement of army vehicles and providing security to border villages in the event of any conflict.
Sikkim has a history of border conflicts, including the 1962 Indo-China War and the 1967 clashes, when it was a kingdom and a protectorate of India.
Sikkim’s exact death toll of the 1962 war is not available, but over 80 Indians and about 340 Chinese soldiers were killed in the clashes at Nathu-la and Cho-la in Sikkim in the fall of 1967. Scores of soldiers from either side were believed to have been injured in clashes at Nathu-la at the start of the present round of conflict in May second week.