Doklam Standoff: China says 'countdown to war' has begun, deploys more troops

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New Delhi: The countdown to war has begun and India should come to its senses and withdraw troops from Dokalam, a state-controlled Chinese daily said on Wednesday. China has also reportedly deployed more troops to the standoff zone in Sikkim's Dokalam.

Currently, about 300 Chinese troops are at the standoff site, facing nearly 350 Indian soldiers staying in 30 tents. But now, the China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has pitched 80 tents around the Dolam plateau, reported the Indian Express. As of now, there are less than 800 Chinese soldiers in the area.

Indian officials, meanwhile, have refused to comment on this. Yesterday, sources told Press Trust of India that Indian Army is in a 'no war, no peace' mode against the Chinese military against the Chinese military in Dokalam and status quo continues in the area.

Chinese media said India has ignored China's stern warnings and should now be ready to face serious consequences, reported news agency IANS.

The "clock is ticking away", said the editorial piece in the daily, further adding that “India will only have itself to blame” if it didn't withdraw troops from Doklam where both the countries have been in a stand-off for the past seven weeks.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army has preponed their annual two-week exercise – Operational Alert, popularly called Op Alert, for 33 Corps overlooking the Sikkim’s border to acclimatise themselves with their likely area of operation.

The acclimatisation happens in two stages: Stage-1 acclimatisation which is conducted over six days, post which troops can operate up to 11,800 feet and Stage-2 acclimatisation another four days, post which soldiers can operated up to 14,700 feet.

With Agency Inputs