Post Doklam, Nirmala Sitharaman to visit Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction

New Delhi: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be visiting Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction and interact with the troops stationed at the forward areas on Saturday.

Sitharaman will be accompanied by Army Vice Chief Lt General Sarath Chand.

Both the Asian giants continue to maintain significant troops present at the crucial junction.

Sitharaman's visit comes a day after China on Friday defended the presence of its troops in the Doklam area, over a month after the standoff with India ended, saying its soldiers are patrolling the region, also claimed by Bhutan, to exercise Beijing's sovereignty.

The 73-day Doklam which began on June 16 over Peoples' Liberation Army plans to build a road in area claimed by Bhutan, ended on August 28 following mutual agreement between India and China.

The External Affairs Ministry said on Friday there are no new developments at the India-China military face-off site in Doklam and its vicinity since the August 28 disengagement.

"We have seen recent press reports on Doklam. There are no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity since the 28th August disengagement. The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect,” the MEA said in a statement.

Sitharaman and Lt General Sarath Chand will visit Tezpur in Assam during the two-day visit beginning Saturday. Sitharaman was earlier scheduled to visit Arunachal Pradesh, too, but it was cancelled later, a source said.