NEW DELHI (TIP): India and China continue to militarily reinforce their positions with the almost two-month long troop standoff in Doklam showing little signs of de-escalation, even as the Army on Thursday denied it had ordered evacuation of some villages near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction.

Government sources said there has been “some build-up” in terms of additional troops and tanks as well as artillery and air defence units in the Tibet Military District by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), but there is “no major or unusual mobilization” towards the Line of Actual Control as yet to send alarm bells clanging in the Indian security establishment.

“Any major PLA mobilization towards our border will be

detected since it will take around a week. Our well acclimatized troops, backed by artillery, rockets and other heavy-calibre weapons, are currently deployed in the ‘no war, no peace’ mode. They are ready to respond quickly if required,” said a source.

Diplomatic channels, however, are also being used in a bid to diffuse the tense faceoff in the Bhutanese territory of Doklam, which erupted after Indian soldiers pro-actively blocked an attempt by the PLA to build a motorable road towards the trijunction in mid-June. “There is likely to be a border personnel meeting at Nathu La on Friday,” said another source.

The Army, on its part, rejected reports that some villages and hamlets in areas like Kuppup, Nathang and Zuluk near the border in Sikkim were in the process of being evacuated due to the heightened tensions. “No village has been evacuated. Neither does the Army propose to get any evacuated. Unnecessary panic should not be spread,” said a source. Source: TOI