With China stepping up protests against troop movements in Sikkim, the Army is in a quandary. While the 27 Mountain Brigade (now in Sikkim) is on an “operational alert” and is checking its defences and operational positions after being re-posted in the state seven years later, an informal ‘gag order’ has been imposed on the army by the Ministry of External Affairs. Apparently, reports in the media a few months ago about the shift to the state raised eyebrows in Beijing. Interestingly, China was alerted about the troop movements well before they actually happened. An informed source commented that even Pakistan does not protest about “operational alerts” and similar troop movements along the LoC anymore.