• China has accused Indian troops of “crossing the boundary” in the Sikkim sector and put their immediate withdrawal as condition to reopen the Nathu La Pass for Indian pilgrims travelling to Kailash Mansarovar.
• Nathu La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas.
• It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
• It is also one of the four officially agreed BPM (Border Personnel Meeting) points between the Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army of China for regular consultations and interactions between the two armies, which helps in defusing stand-offs.
• India and China have widely divergent perceptions of the LAC, which has, so far, not been delineated between the two countries, and has been widely viewed as a major cause of border incidents.
• The four BPM are: Chushul in Ladakh, Nathu La in Sikkim, Bum La Pass in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, and Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand.

Source:TH