China issues ‘safety alert’ for its citizens travelling to India

TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ China on Saturday issued a ‘safety alert’ for its citizens travelling to India over the worsening border row between the two countries.

The travel advisory comes as the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been engaged in a stand-off in Sikkim’s Doklam region since 6 June, which has led to marked unease in ties.

Last week, China had said that it was weighing its options on issuing a travel alert for citizens visiting India depending on the security situation following the border standoff in the Sikkim section.

Since the standoff on 6 June, when the PLA destroyed bunkers of the India Army claiming the area belonged to China, Chinese media have carried several pieces blaming India for escalating border tension and “reminding” the Indian Army about the 1962 war.

Of the 3,488-km-long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220-km section falls in Sikkim.